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^^.^r^. 


c-t^  ,«exi''-^<^ 


FOUR   YEARS 


ABOARD    TUE 


WHALES  HI  P. 


FOUR  YEARS 


ABOARD   THE 


WHALESHIP 


EMBRACING 


CRUISES  IN  THE  PACIFIC,  ATLANTIC,  INDIAN, 
AND  ANTARCTIC  OCEANS, 


IM    THE    YEARS 


1855,  '6,  '7,  '8,  '9. 


BY 

WILLIAM    B.^HITECAK,  Jr, 


PIIlLADELPin  A: 

J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

LONDON:  TKUBNEU  k  CO. 

18G0. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tlie  year  1859,  by 

J.   B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Pennsylvania. 


Add'l 
GUT 


TO 

M  Y     FA  T  H  E  R, 

WHO  HAS  EVER  ENCOURAGED  MY  LITBRARY  EFFORTS, 

AND 

THE  FIRST  TO  DIRECT  TIIEM  IX  A  PROPER  CHANNEL, 

THIS    V^OLUME 

Ks  3t*espectfull2  33eT>fcnte^  65 

THE  AUTHOR. 


(V) 


^  MS5Se2S 


PKEFACE. 


Haying  been  one  of  the  crew  of  an  American 
whaleship,  I  cruised  on  the  ocean  for  the  four 
years  of  my  life  that  have  just  elapsed.  During 
this  long  period  it  frequently  occurred  to  me, 
and  excited  my  wonder,  how  little  knowledge 
of  the  whaling-service  in  its  practical  features 
was  possessed  by  the  people  ashore,  excepting 
a  small  portion  of  those  residing  in  cities  whose 
maritime  trade  is  represented  almost  exclusively 
by  whaleships. 

My  convictions  as  to  the  utility  of  an  exposi- 
tion of  one's  daily  experience  in  this  service  — 
of  the  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  fortune,  as  well 
as  the  perils  of  a  pursuit  which  engages  so  many 
of  our  American  youth  —  were  so  forcible,  that 

(Tii) 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

I  was  led,  at  the  moment  of  embarking  on  my 
voyage,  to  keep  a  Jog-book  or  journal,  in  which, 
at  the  expiration  of  each  nautical  day,  I  noted 
the  diJBferent  emplo3nnents  of  the  crew,  manner 
of  saiUng  the  vessel,  incidents  arising  in  the 
capturing  of  whales,  general  personal  treatment, 
amount  and  quahty  of  provisions,  and  the  phases 
of  the  weather  in  different  latitudes. 

Thus  a  description  of  life  at  sea  alone  came 
within  my  original  intention;  but  as  I  pro- 
gressed, and  became  more  interested  in  my  self- 
imposed  task,  (which,  by  the  way,  enabled  me 
to  occupy  pleasantly  what  would  otherwise  have 
been  weary  and  unprofitable  hours,)  it  seemed 
to  me,  that  my  journal  would  not  be  complete, 
unless  I  should  also  describe  the  seaman's  bear- 
ing when  ashore,  at  liberty,  and  unrestrained  by 
discipline ;  and,  as  such  a  description  involved 
adventures  in  various  localities  of  the  globe, 
I  at  first  was  unconsciously  betrayed  into  a  still 
farther  enlargement  of  my  task :  namely,  to  in- 
corporate the  most  striking  (or,  rather,  those 
in  which  I  was  most  interested)  features  and 
characteristics  of  the  countries  and  people  we 
visited. 


PREFACE.  IX 

My  object,  however,  was  merely  to  complete 
a  narrative  which  might  be  read  to  my  relatives 
and  friends,  in  the  family  circle,  by  the  home- 
stead fireside :  fancying,  indeed,  that  it  would 
really  interest  and  amuse  those,  whose  knowledge 
of  such  incidents  in  a  whaleman's  cruise,  both 
on  the  sea  and  land,  was  limited. 

Publishing  a  book  was  not,  therefore,  within 
the  object  aimed  at ;  but  through  the  advice  of 
many  kind  (possibly,  too  partial)  friends,  I  have 
been  induced  to  submit  the  manuscript  to  my 
generous  and  enterprising  publishers,  who,  de- 
spite its  imperfections,  have  determined  to  pre- 
sent it  to  the  public. 

Such  being  the  ground  upon  which  I  have  now 
come  forward  as  an  author,  I  trust  that  due 
allowance  will  be  made  for  the  literary  imperfec- 
tions of  my  book,  when  I  further  state,  that  the 
entire  matter  comprised  in  my  journal  was  writ- 
ten at  sea,  on  a  sailor's  chest,  amongst  seamen, 
by  night  and  by  day,  amid  storm  and  calm,  in 
localities  situate  between  the  latitudes  41°  30' 
north  and  45°  south,  and  longitudes  71°  west  and 


X  PREFACE. 

170°  east — embracing  a  wide  field  for  observation : 
and  comprehends  bird's  eye  views  in  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  and  other  British  possessions  in 
the  Pacific,  Atlantic,  and  Indian  oceans,  also  in 
the  Malay,  Mascarenha,  Azore,  and  Abrolhas' 
islands. 

Throughout  the  recital,  I  have  confined  my- 
self entirely  to  facts,  without  drawing  on  my 
imagination  for  coloring ;  but  I  have  been  forced, 
from  a  fear  of  being  too  voluminous  in  this,  my 
first  effort,  to  omit  much  that  came  under  my 
observation  during  the  voyage,  which  at  some 
future  period  I  may  find  time  to  lay  before  the 
public. 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  subject,  I  would,  if 
it  were  in  my  power,  press  upon  the  notice  of 
the  Federal  government  the  necessity  of  cherish- 
ing and  encouraging  this  important  branch  of  our 
commerce. 

If  good  seamen  are  to  be  formed  anywhere,  it 
is  in  the  whaling-service  of  this  country.  Here 
it  is,  on  a  three  or  four  years'  voyage,  that  a 


PREFACE.  XI 

man  becomes  acquainted  with  the  minutiae  of  a 
seaman's  duty;  and  from  the  great  proportion 
of  the  time  spent  at  sea  in  vessels  cruising  for 
whales,  the  crew  become  perfectly  familiar  with, 
and  wholly  at  home  upon,  the  sea. 

The  class  of  men,_ too,  who  sail  from  home  in 
our  whaling-vessels,  being  generally  well-informed 
men,  and  having  home-connections,  understand 
and  appreciate  our  free  institutions;  but  it  is 
too  often  the  case  that,  in  the  absence  of  any 
special  inducement  to  remain  true  to  their  en- 
gagement, a  large  proportion  of  the  original  crew 
desert  from  the  vessel.  To  obviate  this,  the 
government  should  attach  a  bounty  to  the  earn- 
ings of  every  sailor  who  remains  in  this  service, 
in  the  same  vessel,  for  three  years  or  more ;  and 
by  this  means  foster  a  class  of  citizens  accustomed 
to  danger  and  emergencies,  not  only  in  their 
everyday  occupation  of  battling  with  the  ele- 
ments, but  by  their  familiarization  with  peril  in 
their  conflicts  with  the  Leviathen  of  the  deep — 
citizens,  who  would  at  all  times  be  prepared  to 
take  charge  of  our  Navy,  and  defend  the  nation's 
honor  and  privileges  against  the  world  I 


XU  PREFACE. 

With  these  brief  prefatory  observations,  I  re- 
spectfully throw  myself  upon  the  generosity  of 
the  reading  community,  and  plead  my  novitiate 
in  the  world  of  letters  to  secure  me  from  too 
rigid  a  criticism.     . 

WILLIAM  B.  WHITECAR,  Jr. 

Philadelphia,  July  26th,   1859. 


FOUR  YEARS 


ABOARD    THE 


WHALESHIP. 


CHAPTEK   I. 


In  June,  1855,  having  decided  upon  embarking 
on  a  whaling  voyage,  I  took  the  steamboat  from 
Philadelphia  to .  Tacony,  thence  by  railway  to  New 
York,  where,  after  a  delay  of  a  few  hours,  I  boarded 
the  steamer  Metropolis,  and  after  a  fine  run  of  twelve 
hours,  landed  in  Fall  River ;  there  I  entered  the  cars, 
and  at  five  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  June  20, 1  took 
up  my  quarters  in  the  city  of  N^ew  Bedford. 

I  immediately  instituted  inquiries  as  to  the  pre- 
liminaries attendant  on  the  preparation  for  such  a 
voyage.  I  soon  acquired  this  information,  and  was 
consigned  to  the  tender  mercies  of  one  of  that  class 
known  by  seafaring  men  as  Land-sharks,  a  descrip- 
tion of  whom  I  shall  attempt  hereafter. 

This  person  treated  me  with  much  urbanity,  desiring 
me  to  leave  my  hotel  to  reside  at  a  boarding-house 
of  his  selection,  stating  to  me  at  the  same  time  that 
numbers  of  whalemen,  outward  and  homeward  bound, 
were  located  there.  My  suspicions  were  slightly 
2  (13) 


14  BOARDING-HOUSE. 

aroused  regarding  the  accommodations  of  this  board- 
ing-house, by  the  earnestness  with  which  he  urged 
my  locating  in  it;   but   no   other  inducement  was 
requisite  for  me  to  coincide  with  his  wishes  than  the 
one  he  last  named;  I  being  desirous,  before  going 
afloat,  to  mingle  and  converse  with  the  initiated,  to 
learn,  if  possible,  something  concerning  the  profes- 
sion in  which  I  was  about  to  embark.     So,  without 
more  ado,  I  proceeded  to  this  domicile,  which  was 
located  on  South  Water  Street.     It  was  kept  by  a 
widow  lady,  who,  for  the  moderate  sum  of  four  dollars 
per  week,  for  each,  furnished  just  such  edibles  as 
you  do  not  get  at  the  Girard,  in  Philadelphia,  or  the 
Metropolitan,  in  E"ew  York.     The  meat  was,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  salted ;  she  wishing,  in  the  abun- 
dance of  her  forethought,  to  render  the  salt  junk, 
which  she  knew  would  form  the  principal  article  of 
our  diet  when  at  sea,  agreeable  to  our  palates ;  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  desiring  to  give  us  a  predisposition 
to  scurvy  ere  yet  we  were  aboard  ship.     These  mo- 
tives were  variously  assigned  by  we   tyros   as   the 
cause  for  the  over-proportion  of  the  saline  in  our 
food ;  as  for  those  who  had  been  at  sea  before,  they 
appeared  to  relish  the  old  lady's  corned  pork  and 
beef,    and    if  we    made    any   remark  to   them    in 
reference  to  its  profusion,  they  would  answer  us  perti- 
nently, "You  will  eat  warse   grub   than  that,  old 
fellow,  before  you  have  done  with  whaling;"  and 
these    prophetic  words    ofttimes    recurred    to    my 
memory  months,  ay,  years,  afterward.   Do  not  think, 
kind  reader,  that  I  was  rendered  fastidious  by  former 
indulgence ;  far  from  it.    I  had  made  up  my  mind  to 
^  change  of  diet,  but  not  to  so  great  a  one ;  for  in  the 


LAND-SHARKS  —  OUR   BARQUE.  15 

four  weeks  that  I  remained  in  this  house,  we  never 
had  but  one  meal  of  fresh  meat  —  it  was  fried  beef- 
steak ;  and  even  that  the  cook  and  a  supernumerary, 
who  had  been  engaged  to  assist  him,  with  the  aid  of 
a  jug  of  New  England  rum,  managed  to  burn  to  a 
cinder,  so  that  we  were  compelled  to  resort  to  our 
old  provender. 

As  soon  as  my  companion  and  myself  had  become 
members  of  this  household,  we,  with  our  assiduous 
friend  the  Shark,  proceeded  to  the  agent's,  with  whom 
he  wished  us  to  engage,  and  after  being  approved  by 
the  Captain,  and  having  made  inquiries  as  to  the  cha- 
racter of  the  vessel  and  her  commander,  we  enrolled 
our  names  upon  the  articles  of  the  Barque  Pacific,  of 
New  Bedford,  Captain  John  W.  Sherman,  bound  to 
the  South  Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans,  to  cruise  for 
sperm  and  right  whales.  The  vessel  was  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty  tons  burthen,  capable  of  carrying 
three  thousand  barrels  of  oil,  and  fitted  out  for  forty 
months ;  she  was  then  undergoing  thorough  repairs, 
having  but  two  months  previously  returned  from  a 
voyage  of  thirty  months'  duration,  in  which  she  had 
been  very  successful ;  and  this,  with  several  previous 
very  remunerative  voyages,  had  given  her  the  name 
of  a  lucky  ship,  which  insured  her  a  good  crew ;  sea- 
men, as  a  class,  being  superstitious,  are  always  eager 
to  sail  in  a  ship  with  which  some  favorable  omen  is, 
or  has  been,  connected,  auguring  from  such  data  her 
subsequent  success. 

As  she  would  not  be  ready  for  sea  for  about 
three  weeks  after  I  had  joined  her,  I  had  plenty 
of  leisure  time  to  look  around  me.  The  prin- 
cipal   objects    in    my  eyes  were,    of   course,    the 


16  THE   WHARVES. 

wharves  and  shipping;  and,  indeed,  the  scene  there 
presented  was  one  of  interest  to  any  observer; 
bustle  and  activity  was  everywhere  apparent;  ships 
loading,  discharging,  repairing,  &c.,  in  every  direction. 
Here  one  might  be  seen  hove  on  her  beam-ends,  re- 
ceiving a  new  copper  jacket;  another  totally  dis- 
mantled, preparatory  to  receiving  new  spars;  on 
another  the  riggers  were  aloft  at  work,  with  their 
merry  song;  below,  still  another  might  be  seen 
weather-beaten  and  shabby,  her  copper  covered  with 
moss  and  barnacles,  she  having  returned  but  a  few 
hours  before  from  a .  long  voyage,  and  the  casks 
being  hoisted  from  her  hold  contain  part  of  her  cargo 
of  oil,  gleaned,  during  her  four  years  of  cruising, 
from  the  monsters  of  the  Pacific,  Atlantic,  Indian, 
Arctic,  and  Antarctic  Oceans.  Alongside  this  weather- 
worn ship,  and  in  strong  contrast  with  her  whole 
appearance,  lies  a  smart,  trim-looking  vessel,  such  a 
one  as  makes  Jack  Tar's  heart  bound  to  look  at ;  her 
hull  is  perfect  in  model,  her  spars  all  rake  jauntily 
aft,  her  yards  are  squared  by  the  lifts  and  braces, 
whilst  the  fresh  appearance  of  her  paint  gives  her  a 
coquettish  look  and  bespeaks  her  ready  for  sea. 
They  are  now  putting  aboard  of  her  the  remnant  of 
her  provisions  not  yet  stowed;  and  as  we  pass  up  the 
gangway  we  come  in  contact  with  a  sailor's  chest 
being  conveyed  aboard  under  the  Argus  eyes  of  its 
hardy  owner,  who  forms  one  of  her  crew. 

On  the  wharves  hundreds  of  coopers  are  employed 
coopering  oil  casks.  Their  continual  strokes  of 
hammer  upon  driver,  united  with  the  heavy  rolling 
of  the  oil  trucks,  creating  a  Babel-like  confusion  from 
which  a  stranger  is  glad  to  escape. 


NEW   BEDFORD.  17 

Whichever  way  we  cast  an  eye  we  see  oil  casks 
or  whalebone,  harpoons  or  lances,  or  some  one  or 
other  of  the  various  et  ceteras  belono^in£r  to  the 
whaleman's  pursuit ;  in  fact,  the  yield  of  the  w^hale 
supports  I^ew  Bedford,  and  is  the  nucleus  around 
which  clusters  all  the  manufactures  of  the  city ;  and 
its  vitality  as  a  community  must  ever  depend  upon  the 
number  of  vessels  it  sends  out  in  pursuit  of  the  whale. 
After  gazing  again  and  again  at  these  objects,  to  me 
so  interesting,  I  diverted  myself  by  walking  through 
the  town,  with  no  other  object  but  to  kill  time — hours 
seeming  days,  and  days  months,  that  intervened  be- 
tween this  time  and  the  day  fixed  for  our  departure ; 
in  fact,  I  had  become  so  infatuated  with  the  idea  of 
going  to  sea,  that  I  viewed  everything  through  a 
glass  whose  tint  was  blue — blue  water  always  dancing 
and  rippling  before  my  mind's  eye.  In  my  perambu- 
lations through  this  city  of  whalemen  I  found  that 
it  was  laid  out  with  something  like  care — the  streets, 
like  those  of  Philadelphia,  at  right  angles ;  many  of 
the  houses  neat  and  well  built,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  part  of  one  street  near  the  river,  wear  a 
quiet  and  respectable  aspect.  One  street  is  an  excep- 
tion to  the  rule,  it  being  occupied  by  houses  of  ill- 
fame,  where  many  a  dollar,  earned  by  exposure  to 
the  storm  on  a  long  voyage,  has  been  filched  from 
the  hardy  mariner  by  the  harpies  who  occupy  its 
tenements ;  and  after  what  I  had  always  read  and 
heard  of  the  puritanical  exactness  of  our  New  Eng- 
land brethren,  I  confess  that  I  was  astonished  that 
such  a  sink  was  permitted  by  the  citizens  of  the  Bay 
State  to  remain  in  existence  for  the  unsophisticated 
seaman  to  be  entrapped  by.  A  liquor  law  had  been 
2*  B 


18  GREEN  HANDS. 

passed  by  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  whilst  I  was  in  ISTew  Bedford  was  pro- 
fessedly in  operation — but  only  professedly,  as 
numbers  of  houses  existed  wherein  liquor  was  sold, 
which,  from  their  public  location,  must  have  been 
known  to  the  authorities. 

At  my  boarding-house,  arrivals  were  continually 
occurring  of  young  men,  from  various  parts  of  the 
Union,  to  embark  on  board  whale-ships.  I  viewed 
with  regret  the  extreme  youth  of  many  of  them. 
There  is  a  systematized  mode  of  procedure  carried 
on  in  our  larger  Atlantic  and  Lake  cities,  for  the 
purpose  of  recruiting  this  service.  Shipping  agents 
engage  young  men,  taking  advantage  of  their  inex- 
perience or  necessities,  paint  whaling  and  its  appur- 
tenances in  vivid  colors,  induce  them  to  sign  their 
names,  and  then  convey  them  to  New  Bedford;  and 
when  they  come  to  review  their  outfit  bills,  they  will 
find  a  charge  of  from  ten  to  fourteen  dollars  for  the 
agent's  services.  Among  the  arrivals  at  our  house 
w^as  one  from  "Western  Pennsylvania,  who  talked 
sailor,  walked  sailor,  and  dressed  sailor,  rolling  when 
he  walked  so  as  almost  to  take  in  a  pocketful  of 
sand  on  each  side,  and  wore  an  immense  kedge 
anchor  on  his  neckerchief;  he  was  looked  at  by  the 
inexperienced  as  a  prodigy,  but  by  old  sailors  with  a 
contemptuous  expression,  always  accompanied  by 
the  remark,  "  Too  much  salt  water  there."  This 
individual  was  afterward  the  most  miserable  poltroon 
in  our  ship,  and  despite  his  vauntings  of  personal 
qualifications  as  a  seaman,  lashed  himself  with  a 
yard  arm  gasket  to  the  main  topgallant  rigging  whilst 
engaged  in  furling  the  main  topgallant  sail.     Such 


WE   GO    ABOARD    THE   VESSEL.  19 

is  generally  the  case — men  who  talk  loudly  of  their 
ability  ashore  are  apt  to  be  inefficient  at  sea. 

And  now,  after  remaining  until  wearied  out,  our 
ship  is  ready  to  sail  to-morrow.  As  is  customary  on 
the  day  before  sailing,  each  man  proceeds  to  his  out- 
fitter and  procures  his  clothing ;  the  owners  usually 
allow  to  the  foremast  hands  an  advance  of  seventy- 
five  dollars,  for  which  the  foremast  hand  gives  the 
outfitter  an  order,  and  receives  his  clothing.  The 
Shark,  or  outfitter,  charges  double  the  price  of  good, 
for  worthless  articles,  which  must  be  taken  at  his  prices, 
as  there  is  no  redress.  By  the  time  the  foremast  hands* 
board-bill  and  pocket-money  are  deducted  from -his 
advance,  the  wardrobe  he  is  able  to  procure  is  slender 
and  insufficient,  so  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  months 
he  will  be  compelled  to  resort  to  the  "slop-chest, 
where,  if  the  ship  has  been  successful,  he  will  be 
eagerly  welcomed  —  the  more  so,  as  the  Captain  is 
often  interested  in  the  profits  of  the  slop-chest ;  if 
unsuccessful,  and  he  has  a  liberal  Captain,  his  neces- 
sities will  be  supplied;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
should  be  parsimonious,  scowling  looks  will  be  all 
the  relief  he  gets,  and  he  will  be  forced  to  beg  from 
his  shipmates,  who  will  not  allow  him  to  suffer, 
although  the  prudent  are  cautious,  as  in  a  three 
years'  voyage  every  man  must  be  careful  of  his 
effects,  as  they  constitute  his  capital. 

Having  procured  our  outfits  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  of  Monday,  July  23d,  we  went  aboard, 
desiring  to  pass  one  night  on  the  vessel  before  she 
sailed.  Soon  after  we  hauled  out  into  the  stream, 
and  were  towed  by  a  steamboat  down  to  Clarke's 
Point,  where  we  let  go  our  larboard  anchor.   During 


20  FIRST  NIGHT   ABOARD. 

the  afternoon  others  of  the  crew  arrived,  amongst 
them  a  fine-looking  old  tar  who  knew  the  ropes,  and 
had  a  three  gallon  jug  of  IsTew  England  ram  stowed 
away  in  his  chest,  which,  as  soon  as  carried  into  the 
forecastle,  he  produced  and  passed  around  time  after 
time,  until  all  those  who  would  imbibe  were  more 
than  half  seas  over,  making  night  hideous  with  their 
discordant  clang.  At  noon  the  next  day  the  Captain 
and  others  came  aboard  in  the  pilot  boat.  The  sails 
were  loosed,  windlass  manned,  anchor  hove  up  to 
the  inspiriting  chant.  We  are  bound  to  the  Western 
Ocean,  and  soon  the  old  Pacific  was  aweigh  and  off 
to  sea  again,  leaving  the  land  of  her  flag  far  in  the 
distance. 

All  was  bustle  and  confusion  aboard  the  ship,  we 
having  no 'less  than  fourteen  green  hands,  and  the 
few  foremast  hands  who  had  before  followed  the  sea 
were  so  overcome  by  the  ardent  that  they  were 
useless ;  so  that  the  officers  were  obliged  in  almost 
every  case  to  execute  their  own  orders.  We  were 
blessed  with  a  head  wind,  and  were  obliged  to  beat 
out  of  the  bay,  and,  with  the  consequent  hurry  and 
excitement  attendant  on  tacking  ship,  little  leisure 
was  left  to  us  for  reflection ;  but  as  the  sun  sank  low 
in  the  horizon,  and  the  blue  hills  of  the  land  of  my 
birth,  and  love,  and  veneration  —  the  home  of  me 
and  mine — were  gradually  becoming  more  and  more 
indistinct — as  I  looked  around  me  on  the  expanse 
of  water,  extending  on  every  side,  I  felt  alone ;  and 
then,  and  not  till  then,  did  I  feel  the  momentous 
character  of  what  I  had  undertaken ;  then  I  bethought 
me  of  the  thousand  little  comforts  of  home,  the 
many  kindnesses  I  had  received  from  relatives  and 


SEA-SICKNESS.  21 

friends,  and  I  leaned  my  head  on  the  bulwarks, 
and  felt  as  if  I  knew  what  desolation  and  heart-sick- 
ness were  for  the  first  time.  This  state  of  afiPairs 
eould  not  last  long,  so  I  rallied  and  attempted  to  look 
brave  and  careless ;  but  the  efifort  was  vain,  for  if  any 
person  had  taken  the  trouble  to  look  at  my  lugubrious 
countenance,  they  could  have  seen,  that  under  an 
attempted  careless  exterior  I  carried  an  aching  breast ; 
but  all  hands  were  too  fully  occupied  by  their  per- 
sonal feelings  to  notice  me,  and  so  it  passed  unre- 
marked. 

Towards  evening,  that  most  annoying  and  dis- 
tressing of  all  petty  maladies  —  viz.,  sea-sickness, 
made  its  appearance  amongst  our  green  hands; 
having  experienced  it  before,  I  escaped  with  but 
little  annoyance ;  not  so  with  some  other  poor  fellows, 
and  amongst  those  I  noticed  the  person  I  mentioned 
before,  who  claimed  so  intimate  an  acquaintance 
with  the  sea,  utterly  prostrated ;  a  few  hours  previous 
he  was  the  blithest  of  the  party,  and  was  singing 
with  great  zest  — 

"A  life  on  the  ocean  wave, 
And  a  home  on  the  rolling  deep." 

but  now,  alas !  he  was  tuneless,  and  almost  breathless ; 
but  I  imagined  that  had  he  been  able  to  sing,  the 
burden  of  his  lay  would  have  been  — 

"The  sea,  the  sea,  the  horrid  sea." 

This  individual,  from  a  circumstance  which  I  have 
before  alluded  to,  had  received  the  appellation  of 
Kedge  Anchor,  or  Cage  Anchor,  or  it  was  sometimes 
abbreviated  to  Cage ;  and  as  he  will  figure  repeatedly 


22  KEDGE   ANCHOR. 

as  I  proceed,  I  may  as  well  at  the  outset  give  him 
the  cognomen  by  which  he  was  known  during  his 
stay  aboard  with  us.  His  sickness,  and  ludicrous 
exclamations  of  "I  wish  I  was  on  the  steam-wagon 
again"  (he  had  formerly  been  brakeman  on  the  Kew 
York  and  Erie  Eailroad),  and  pathetic  entreaties  to 
be  allowed  to  die  in  peace,  when  desired  to  do  any- 
thing, excited  the  mirth  of  all,  no  sympathy  being 
tendered  to  him  except  in  one  instance,  when  one 
of  the  seamen  offered  him  a  pint  of  salt  water, 
assuring  him  it  was  a  cordial ;  a  mouthful  was  suffi- 
cient to  undeceive  him,  he  spat  out  the  nauseating 
draught,  and  the  queer  expression  he  wore  on  his 
phiz,  and  no  less  queer  entreaty  to  take  the  darned 
thing  away,  were  so  humorous  as  to  shock  his 
auditors  into  merriment,  and  secured  him  against 
farther  molestation. 

The  reason  that  so  many  green  hands  are  shipped 
in  vessels  engaged  in  this  trade,  is,  that  they  are  to 
be  engaged  for  a  trifling  proportion  of  the  vessel's 
earnings,  and  the  great  difficulty  of  procuring  those 
who  have  before  been  to  sea,  to  go  before  the  mast  a 
second  time;  no  man  whomsoever,  if  he  can  make  any 
pretensions  to  mediocrity,  being  obliged  a  second 
time  to  go  before  the  mast ;  he  is  always  qualified  for 
the  post  of  boat-steerer,  and  can  attain  it  without 
any  trouble ;  and  those  who  are  not  disgusted  with 
their  first  voyage  and  have  a  particle  of  energy  or 
ambition  in  their  composition,  invariably  do  so ;  and 
from  boatsteerer  gradually  ascend  to  be  captains. 
Whaling  is,  in  fact,  a  progressive  service,  and 
although  the  probation  comprises  the  best  part  of  a 
man's  life,  yet  the   pinnacle   of  their  fame  is  au 


SETTING   THE   WATCHES.  23 

honorable  one ;  and  as  the  boys  who  are  educated  in 
"New  Bedford  are  brouglit  up  with  the  idea  that  to 
be  a  whaling  skipper  is  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  all 
stations  in  life,  so  they  consider  it  as  the  acme  of  all 
their  ambitious  hopes. 

At  dusk  the  captain  called  the  ship's  company 
aft,  and  addressed  them  to  the  effect,  that  we  were 
all  together  bound  on  a  long  voyage,  in  all  proba- 
bility to  last  for  years,  and  he  considered  it  as  neces- 
sary that  we  shoTild  at  the  outset  fully  understand 
each  other.  He  then  went  on  to  say  that  all  hands 
should  receive  a  sufficient  supply  of  such  provision 
as  was  in  the  ship,  so  long  as  it  was  not  wasted.  He 
stated  that  none  of  the  crew  forward  should  be  mis- 
used or  imposed  upon  by  the  officers.  He  then 
told  us,  that  if  there  were  any  rascals  in  the  crew 
he  should  detect  them;  and  concluded  b}''  stating 
that  as  long  as  we  used  him  well,  he  should  return 
the  compliment,  and  vice  versa.  This  was  plane 
sailing,  and  all  understood  him.  Immediately  after- 
ward the  watches,  chosen  from  the  boatsteerers  and 
crew  by  the  chief  mate  and  second  mate,  were  set; 
the  chief  mate  had  the  first  choice ;  the  second  mate, 
who  heads  the  captain's  watch,  succeeded  him :  at 
the  same  time  the  boats'  crews  were  chosen  by  the 
officers,  as  before,  the  chief  mate  having  the  first 
choice,  and  so  in  succession  according  to  rank,  until 
the  fourth  mate  had  chosen.  In  many  ships  that 
carry  four  boats  the  captain  heads  his  own;  but 
most,  like  us,  have  a  fourth  mate,  who  supplies  his 
place.  But  to  return  to  setting  the  watches,  which 
took  place  at  seven  o'clock,  P.  M. ;  the  starboard,  or 
captain's  watch,  headed  by  the  second,  assisted  by 


24  THE  vessel's  history. 

the  fourth  mate,  comprising  half  the  foremast  hands 
and  two  boatsteerers,  had  the  first  turn  in.  On  being 
ushered  into  the  steerage  or  forecastle,  those  who 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  having  soft  beds  and  com- 
fortable bedding  provided  for  them  by  the  hands  of 
affectionate  mothers,  although  somewhat  prepared 
for  a  difference,  were  sui-prised  at  their  sleeping 
accommodations — rude  boxes,  or  rather  berths,  built 
to  the  sides  of  the  ship,  about  five  feet  long,  and  two 
and  a  half  in  width,  furnished  with  a  pair  of  blankets, 
a  quilt,  and  a  bed,  which,  according  to  the  amount 
of  attention  paid  to  the  outfit  of  the  occupant,  varied 
from  a  hair  mattress  in  one  case,  to  the  common  corn 
husk  or  straw  tick.  However,  this  was  no  time  to 
soliloquize  over  past  comforts,  so  all  bundled  in 
without  ceremony ;  and  in  a  short  time,  from  the 
unusual  exercise  of  the  day,  to  judge  from  the  nasal 
organism  floating  through  the  air,  profound  slumber 
reigned  throughout  the  between-decks  of  the  ship. 
And  now,  that  one  half  the  ship's  company  are 
enclosed  in  the  embraces  of  Morpheus,  we  will  glance 
round  and  take  a  peep  at  our  vessel  and  crew.  The 
vessel,  as  I  before  mentioned,  is  an  old  fashioned 
barque,  built  to  ply  as  a  packet  between  ISTew  York 
and  Liverpool,  which  duty  she  performed  with  faith- 
fulness and  satisfaction  to  her  owners ;  and  in  her 
palmiest  days  bore  the  reputation  of  being  the  fastest 
ship  out  of  ^ew  York ;  but  the  improvements  in  ship- 
building necessitated  her  owners  to  dispose  of  an  old 
and  faithful  servant,  and  replace  her  with  a  modern 
modelled  craft — safer  could  not  be.  She  was  bought 
by  a  I^ew  Bedford  merchant,  who,  after  altering  her 
for  the  purpose,  put  her  into  the  whaling  trade,  where 


HER   OUTFIT.  25 

for  years  she  maintained  ber  reputation  as  a  swift 
sailer,  until  clippers  were  introduced  to  compete  with 
her,  w^hen,  of  course,  she  was  obliged  to  succumb. 
From  this  port  she  made  many  successful  voyages, 
enriching  her  owners  and  increasing  her  good  name, 
until  1855,  at  which  time  she  was  fifty-three  years 
old,  and  with  the  exception  of  being  new  topped  and 
coppered,  the  latter  at  the  completion  of  each  voyage, 
she  had  undergone  no  repairs.  Her  great  age  attests 
to  her  staunchness  and  seaworthiness,  and  by  all 
•who  had  sailed  in  her  the  greatest  confidence  was 
ever  expressed. 

On  board  of  her  was  every  article  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  men  whose  principal  resources  for  forty 
months  lay  in  her  cargo.  There  was,  in  the  iron  imple- 
ment line,  everything  that  is  used  at  sea,  from  a 
needle  to  an  anchor ;  clothing  of  all  kinds  and  sizes ; 
provisions,  muskets,  ammunition ;  tawdry  articles  to 
trade  with  the  semi-civilized  natives  of  the  East 
India  and  Madagascar  Isles ;  tin  ware,  soap,  shoes, 
tobacco,  and  saddles  for  the  inhabitants  of  Australia ; 
also  sails,  rigging,  spare  boats,  and  all  other  neces- 
saries to  equip  and  enable  her  to  sustain  herself  for 
three  years.  Whalers,  unless  some  serious  accident 
befalls,  do  not  usually  enter  ports  where  their  neces- 
sities can  be  supplied  at  other  than  exorbitant  prices, 
except  the  last  one,  where  they  always  calculate  to 
dispose  of  surplus  provisions,  boats,  and  rigging: 
being  in  a  hurry  to  get  home,  they  make  some  port 
of  note  so  as  to  be  detained  as  short  a  time  as  possi- 
ble in  getting  rid  of  them.  The  reason  for  touching 
at  obscure  places,  is  the  great  danger  of  losing  men  by 
desertion,  which  always  occurs  in  commercial  ports. 
3 


26  DESCRIPTION  or  THE  orncERS 

Besides  all  these  she  carried  outboard  four  boats 
pendant  from  davits,  resting  on  cranes;  one  on  the 
starboard  quarter,  which  gives  it  its  name ;  one 
on  the  port  quarter,  called  the  larboard  boat,  is  the 
chief  mate's;  directly  forward  of  it,  on  the  larboard 
side,  are  the  waist  and  bow  boats  —  the  former 
headed  by  the  second,  the  latter  by  the  third  mate ; 
the  starboard  boat  is  headed  by  the  Captain  or  fourth 
mate,  as  the  case  may  be.  Each  boat  has  a  crew  of 
four  men,  beside  the  boatsteerer  and  officer,  and 
carries  two  tubs  of  line,  harpoons,  lances,  boat  spade, 
hatchet,  knives,  keg  with  water,  keg  containing 
lantern,  matches,  candles,  tobacco,  pipes,  bread,  and 
a  drug.  Having  now  pretty  closely  analyzed  our 
vessel  and  her  cargo,  we  will  glance  over  the  inmates. 
The  Captain,  a  large,  powerful  man,  with  a  face  ap- 
parently expressive  of  frankness  and  good  nature. 
The  chief  mate,  J.  B.  H.,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
six,  rather  below  the  medium  height,  with  an  eye 
like  a  hawk,  quick  to  think  and  quick  to  act — a  first- 
rate  officer.  D.  E.,  the  second  mate,  a  corpulent 
man,  below  the  average  height,  with  an  excellent 
mind  and  noble  heart.  The  third  mate,  J.  D., 
formerly  boatsteerer  in  this  ship  on  her  preceding 
voyage,  and  the  fourth  mate,  C.  A.,  both  powerful, 
hearty  fellows,  energetic  and  pushing,  putting  their 
shoulders  to  the  w^heel  on  all  occasions  where  strong: 
hands  and  brave  hearts  are  wanted ;  these,  with  the 
steward,  inhabited  the  cabin  or  after  part  of  the 
b"etween  decks  of  the  ship.  All  were  Massachusetts 
men  ;  none  of  them  had  ever  learned  trades,  or  been 
employed  in  business  ashore,  but  had  pursued  their 
perilous  profession  from  boyhood  up,  in  every  ocean 


AND   OF  THE   CREW.  "57 

and  in  every  clime,  from  the  frozen  north  to  the 
frozen  south,  and,  hitherto,  had  alwa^'s  been  sue- 
cessfaL 

The  boatsteerers  were  four  in  number,  two  of 
whom  had  before  steered  boats  and  made  voyages  in 
that  position  ;  the  remaining  two  had  each  sailed  one 
voyage  before  the  mast  —  one  of  them  in  tliis  same 
good  old  barque,  to  the  frozen  realms  of  the  Ice  king, 
in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  whence  the  vessel  returned,  in 
the  course  of  thirty  months,  with  four  thousand  five 
hundred  barrels  of  oil ;  these  four,  with  the  cooper, 
occupied  the  steerage,  an  apartment  directly  forward 
of  the  cabin. 

The  foremast  hands,  eighteen  in  number,  of  whom 
but  four  had  ev^er  been  to  sea  before,  were  a  youthful, 
reckless,  merry  set,  from  all  over  the  Union.  We  had 
but  two  foreigners,  Germans,  in  the  ship  —  the  cook, 
and  one  of  the  crew.  ^Many  of  the  youngsters  were 
New  Bedford  boys,  performing  this  voyage  as  ap- 
prentices. With  the  exception  of  the  Captain  and 
old  Jack  Miller,  as  hardy  an  old  tar  as  ever  stepped 
a  ratline,  and  who  could  spin  a  yarn  to  order  that 
would  put  Baron  Munchausen  to  the  blush,  there  ' 
was  not  a  married  man,  or  one  who  was  over  twenty- 
six  years  of  age  aboard  the  ship.  To  attempt,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Massachusetts  men,  to  assign  a 
reason  for  any  of  our  shipmates'  choosing  whaling 
as  a  profession,  would  be  mere  conjecture.  Any  one 
could  see  at  a  glance  they  were  neithex_px)L5:ei^ty- 
stricken  nur  iuduh;ntr;^btit  oil' examining  their  features, 
'al'oving  unsettled  expression  might  be  detected  by 
a  close  observer,  on  the  lineaments  of  each  —  a  cer- 
tain love  of  change,  so  all-absorbing  with  most  young 


28  GREEN  HANDS   SEA-SICK. 

men;  nor  wene- they  on  the,  whole  ignorantj  as  I. 
found  by  conversation  —  all  being  thoroughly  con- 
Versaht  with  the  leading  topics  of  the  day,  and  each,'' 
like  every  true  American,  had  his  individual  opinion 
of  the  merits  of  newspaper  notorieties,  politics^_^and 
other  matters  that  engross  the  American  mind ;  but  we 
left  them  fast  asleep,  and  as  I,  in  the  interim,  have 
spun  a  long  yarn,  it  is  time  to  conclude,  as  the 
helmsman  sings  out  "Eight  bells."  A  hoarse  call  is 
now  heard  at  the  forecastle  of  "  Starbowlines,  ahoy !" 
and  as  the  breeze  has  freshened  and  the  vessel  is  gently 
pitching,  we  will  step  into  the  forecastle  and  criticise 
the  appearance  of  our  green  hands.  Part  of  them 
are  out  of  their  bunks  indulging  in  the  most  lachry- 
mose expressions,  scarce  able  to  dress,  for  fear  the 
vessel's  motion  will  destroy  their  equilibrium  —  and 
"I  wish  I  was  at  home,"  is  the  general  cry;  some 
cannot  muster  resolution  enough  to  get  out  of  their 
berths,  others  have  thus  far  succeeded,  but  only  to 
resume  a  recumbent  position  on  their  chests,  whilst 
a  few  with  set  teeth  and  praiseworthy  resolution, 
manage  to  get  upon  deck,  and  grasp  the  rigging 
on  the  fife  rail  enclosing  the  foremast;  there  they 
stand,  incapable  of  altering  their  position,  hanging 
on  with  a  pertinacity  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  staring 
in  stupid  vacancy  at  all  around  them,  and  when 
receiving  an  officer's  order,  acknowledging  it  by  a 
sickly,  unmeaning  grin,  to  express  their  willingness, 
but  inability  to  perform.  Officers  are  required  to 
exercise  the  utmost  patience  and  forbearance  in  the 
management  of  such  a  crew ;  instead  of  an  active, 
able  ship's  company,  such  as  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  sail  with,  here  they  have  an  assortment  of 


GREE2;nORNS'    MISTAKES.  29 

men,  ignorant  of  a  single  rope  in  the  ship,  who  are 
just  as  much  acquainted  with  the  rigging  as  with 
Greek  and  Hebrew,  knowing  as  much  about  the 
cook's  leg  as  the  cook's  nose,  and  more  about  the 
boy  than  the  buoy,  and  as  like  as  not  when  ordered 
to  heave  the  buoy  overboard  to  heave  the  boy.  I 
have  seen  many  laughable  mistakes  occur  amongst 
our  boys  when  first  out;  do  not  think  I  take  a 
sailor's  privilege  and  draw  a  long  bow,  as  I  am  at 
the  same  time  included  with  these  worthies — I  being, 
at  the  time  of  leaving  home,  as  verdant  as  any  of  the 
rest.  I  have  seen  them  when  ordered  to  haul  down 
the  flying  jib,  grasp  the  spanker  halyards,  and  spend 
any  quantity  of  pulling  and  hauling  upon  it,  won- 
dering at  the  same  time  why  the  darned  thing  did 
not  come  down  ;  their  only  mistake  in  this  case  was 
hoisting  the  aftermost  sail  in  the  ship  instead  of 
lowering  the  foremost.  With  our  officers,  as  a  general 
thing,  these  errors  passed  off  good  humoredly ;  but, 
as  I  said  before,  they  were  required  to  use  all  their 
forbearance  to  repress  their  anger  at  our  lubberly 
mistakes ;  nor  would  it  have  been  surprising,  all 
things  taken  into  consideration,  had  they  let  out  at 
us  occasionally,  and  I  doubt  much  if  Job,  who,  by 
the  Book  of  books,  is  spoken  of  as  the  most  patient 
man  of  antiquity,  were  he  afloat  with  a  green  crew, 
who  misunderstood  all  he  said  to  them,  and  who  in 
the  multiplicity  of  their  ideas  would  attempt  to  haul 
up  the  mainsail  with  the  spanker  vang,  or  clew  down 
a  topsail  with  the  slab  line  —  I  say,  I  doubt  whether 
even  he,  the  said  Job,  would  not  find  his  stock  of 
patience,  noted  as  he  was  for  that  virtue,  oozing  out 
at  his  fingers  ends^  and  be  tempted  to  anathematize 
3* 


80  STRUCK   BY  A   SQUALL. 

their  lubberly  eyes  in  a  heartfelt  and  seamanlike 
manner.  In  a  short  time,  however,  things  began  to 
wear  a  totally  different  aspect ;  improvement  was  the 
order  of  the  day  —  each  tried  to  excel  the  other. 
This  spirit  of  emulation  was  productive  of  the  most 
beneficial  results  to  everybody,  and  in  a  short  time 
we  had  an  efficient  crew,  perfectly  competent  to  battle 
with  the  combined  forces  of  Boreas  and  I^eptune. 

When  three  days  out,  we  spoke  the  ship  Mon- 
mouth, of  Bath  ;  she  was  a  fine-looking  ship,  running 
free,  with  the  wind  on  her  quarter,  and  everything 
alow  and  aloft  drawing,  presenting  a  beautiful  sight. 

On  the  fourth  day  out,  whilst  crossing  the  Gulf 
Stream,  we  were  struck  by  a  squall,  prevalent  in  that 
latitude.  All  hands  were  called,  and  as  this  was  our 
first  trip  aloft,  we  ascended  the  rigging  with  fear  and 
trembling  —  holding  on  to  the  shrouds  as  if  it  was 
our  intention  to  squeeze  all  the  tar  out  of  the  rigging. 
When  on  the  yards  we  were  of  little  use,  carrying 
out  the  landlubbers'  motto  to  the  letter,  of  both 
hands  for  yourself  and  the  rest  for  the  owners.  We 
all  hung  on  like  good  fellows,  and  if  it  had  depended 
upon  us  to  reef  the  sail  it  would  not  have  been  done 
till  now. 

The  first  Sunday  intervening  after  our  departure 
from  home,  proved  a  bright,  beautiful  day,  the  sun 
rising  in  gorgeous  splendor.  After  breakfast  the 
chief  mate  went  throughout  the  crew,  and  gave  to 
all  who  were  not  already  provided,  a  Bible  or  Testa- 
ment, also  tracts  and  religious  papers.  These  books, 
I  believe,  were  supplied  by  a  Tract  Society,  in  l^ew 
Bedford,  who  customarily  place  the  word  of  God 
aboard  every  ship  that  leaves  the  harbor.    The  books 


BARTERING    ON    SIIirBOARD.  31 

were  all  received  with  thankfulness ;  and  I  will  here 
take  occasion  to  state  that  I  never  heard  a  sailor 
speak  irreverently  of  the  Bible.  Men  aboard  ship  I 
have  heard  do  so,  but  only  in  three  instances,  and  in 
those  cases  they  were  neither  sailors  nor  landsmen — 
incapable  of  filling  a  respectable  position  on  either 
element;  therefore  their  opinions  were  of  little 
weight. 

Directl}^  after  we  got  outside,  the  peculiarity  of 
the  great  Yankee  nation  began  to  manifest  itself,  and 
divers  trades  and  speculations  were  set  afloat;  the 
ship's  company  having  been  transformed  into  an 
Israelite  assemblage  worthy  of  South  Street,  Phila- 
delphia, or  Chatham  Street,  l^ew  York,  bartering 
for  and  exchanging  old  and  new  clothes.  Money  is 
not  a  medium  aboard  a  whale-ship,  and  the  possessor 
of  it  usually  stows  it  away  in  the  corner  of  his  chest 
as  so  much  dross,  of  no  value  to  him.  Tobacco 
takes  its  place  and  is  the  currency ;  an  article  being 
valued,  not  at  so  many  dollars,  but  at  so  many 
pounds  and  plugs  of  tobacco  —  thu&  substituting  a 
vegetable  for  a  metallic  currency ;  and  as  most  men 
coming  to  sea,  whether  they  use  the  weed  or  not, 
provide  themselves  with  a  considerable  quantity  of 
it,  some  of  the  old  hands  accumulated  quite  a  stock; 
several  of  them  numbering  their  acquisitions  by  the 
hundred  pounds.  As  they  did  not  assign  a  motive 
for  hoarding  it,  I  wondered  at  the  propensity,  but 
was  not  enlightened  until  we  made  an  Australian 
port,  where,  on  account  of  the  inferior  article  im-  ^ 
ported,  and  the  high  duty,  making  the  price  per/ 
pound  treble  of  the  best  tobacco  in  the  States,  theirs,/ 


32  GAMBLING. 

by  smuggling  it  ashore,  was  readily  disposable  at  a 
good  return. 

Gambling,  too,  soon  developed  itself,  and  after  a 
bard  day's  work,  or  when  the  gale  was  piping  through 
the  rigging,  and  the  waves  surging  and  hissing  in 
ocean's  cauldron,  rendering  the  vessel's  motion  un- 
steady, so  that  the  participators  in  the  game  could 
scarce  retain  their  seats,  I  have  seen  a  half-dozeu 
seated  around  a  chest  (or,  in  sailor's  parlance,  donkey), 
a  pile  of  tobacco  in  the  centre,  shuffling  a  pack  of 
dirty,  greasy  cards,  playing  bluff  or  all-fours,  and 
watching  the  game  as  if  their  very  existence  depended 
on  the  winning  or  losing  a  few  pounds  of  tobacco. 
By  this  operation  the  green  hands  were  the  losers, 
of  course ;  those  who  had  been  to  sea  before  working 
together,  and  always  making  the  game  profitable  to 
themselves ;  therefore,  those  who  had  not  strength 
of  mind  to  refrain,  were  soon  stripped  of  all  their 
tobacco  ;  and  I  remember,  one  evening,  seeing  a  man, 
after  losing  all  his  stock,  pull  his  shirt  off  his  back 
and  sell  it  for  tobacco  to  continue  the  game.  This 
being  speedily  dissipated,  his  under-shirt  was  disposed 
of  in  the  same  way.  We,  who  did  not  take  part  in 
the  game,  stood  it  as  long  as  we  could,  as  the  usual 
attendants  to  a  game  of  chance,  high  words  and 
quarrelling  w^ere  rife ;  we  finally  began  to  complain, 
when  the  captain,  to  avoid  disturbance,  offered  a 
pound  of  tobacco  for  every  pack  of  cards  that  should 
be  brought  to-him.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and 
we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  cards  hove 
overboard  and  lightly  floating  astern.  We  congratu- 
lated ourselves  on  this  amelioration  of  discomfort; 
but  an  inventive  genius  from  ;N"ew  Jersey,  becoming, 


FALSE   ALARM.  33 

as  he  said,  oppressed  with  ennui,  manufactured  a  set 
of  dominoes  from  a  sperm  whale's  jaw ;  another  con- 
trived dice;  whilst  a  third  made  a  checker-board;  a 
fourth  originated  a  sweat-table ;  and  thus  we  were 
attended  by  this  evil  throughout  the  voyage — the  only 
intermission  being  Sundays  and  the  time  occupied 
in  capturing  and  taking  care  of  whales. 

Wlien  a  week  out  from  home  a  false  alarm  was 
raised  of  "  There  she  blows  !  There  she  blows  !"  con- 
tinued for  some  twenty  or  thirty  times  in  succession, 
at  intervals  of  about  thirty  seconds.  The  boatsteerer 
on  the  maintopgallant  crosstrees,  on  being  asked 
"Where  away,"  by  the  captain,  answered,  "Two 
points  on  the  lee  bow,  about  two  miles  ofi*."  All 
hands  were  called,  the  lines  put  into  the  boats ;  they 
were  then  hoisted,  swung  and  lowered,  the  crew 
following  the  boats  down  the  sides  of  the  ship,  and 
leaping  in  the  moment  they  touched  the  water;  then 
shoving  off*  and  pulling  in  the  direction  of  the  fish. 
Soon  the  boatsteerer  was  ordered  to  stand  up,  then 
to  give  it  to  him,  then  to  give  him  the  other  iron ; 
and  then  we  found  that  there  nad  been  no  whales 
seen,  but  that  the  whole  affair  was  arranged  to 
familiarize  us  with  boat  duty,  so  that  we  might  be 
acquainted  with  the  rigmarole  when  occasion  required. 
At  first  but  little  order  or  regulation  was  observed, 
each  one  pulling  on  his  own  hook ;  but  after  some 
little  instruction  we  managed  to  make  the  boat  go 
ahead  without  describing  half  a  dozen  circles  before 
starting.  As  we  became  warm  with  the  exercise,  the 
old  hands  grew  excited,  and  gave  their  short,  quick 
orders  of  "  Give  it  to  him  !  Stern,  stern  all— hard  ! 
Stern,  men,  for  your  lives !"  with  as  much  enthusiasm 

0 


34  THE   EMBRYO   WHALEMAN. 

as  if  a  sperm  whale  was  in  reality  spouting  under 
the  head  of  the  boat.  The  day  being  fine  all  hands 
were  delighted  with  the  sport,  particularly  so  our 
"New  Bedford  boys;  and  after  coming  aboard  and 
hoisting  our  boats  to  a  meny  song,  no  doubt  more 
than  one  aspirant  to  the  heading  of  a  boat,  went  to 
his  pillow  to  dream  of  future  successes,  and  turn  up 
whales  in  imagination  by  scores.  Their  ambition  is 
pardonable,  too,  as,  in  the  section  of  country  in  which 
they  reside,  a  successful  whaling  skipper  is  looked 
upon  as  a  much  more  important  personage  in  the 
community  than  is  a  member  of  Congress ;  and  I  do 
not  doubt  that  if  the  choice  of  the  appellations  Honor- 
able and  Captain  were  tendered  to  the  youths  of  New 
Bedford  and  its  vicinity,  nine-tenths  of  them  would 
prefer  the  latter ;  nor  does  he,  in  thus  devoting  him- 
self to  whaling  as  a  profession,  embrace  an  easy 
mode  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  He  must  be  no  mere 
carpet  knight,  but  must  stand  prepared  to  give  and 
receive  hard  knocks ;  and  combat,  not  only  with  the 
winds  and  waves  (the  task  of  ordinary  sailors),  but 
with  the  monarch  of  the  seas  —  the  great  sperm 
whale ;  nor  must  he  betray,  no  matter  how  perilous 
his  position  may  hap  to  be  during  an  encounter  with 
leviathan,  the  slightest  evidence  of  fear,  as  such  a 
symptom  would  make  him  a  butt  for  rude  personal 
jokes,  which  would  drive  him,  by  their  pointedness 
and  sarcasm,  out  of  the  service ;  but  he  must  view 
every  position  into  which  he  is  thrown,  and  every 
peril  to  which  he  may  be  subjected,  with  as  much 
indifference  as  if  it  were  of  no  importance  to  him, 
and  he  will  acquire  a  reputation  for  fearlessness 
and  coolness,  which  invariably,  no  matter  what  his 


THERE   GOES   FLUKES  !  35 

faults  may  be,  will  gain  him  respect  both  from  officers 
and  crew;  sailors,  as  a  class,  admiring  reckless 
courage,  and  although  they  will  always  follow  where 
an  officer  in  whom  they  have  confidence  leads,  the 
slightest  suspicion  of  their  leader's  capability  or 
courage  is  sufficient  to  damp  their  ardor,  and  cause 
them  to  act  with  lukewarm  efforts.  I  do  not  mean 
to  cast  a  stigma  on  the  well-won  reputation  of  seamen 
for  courage,  but  from  the  discipline  of  a  well-regu- 
lated ship,  the  seaman  is  taught  to  look  up  to  his 
officers,  who,  in  his  eyes,  bear  all  the  responsibihty, 
and  thus  in  a  measure  he  regulates  all  his  motions 
by  that  of  his  superior,  and  if  anything  goes  wrong, 
imputes  the  error  to  its  proper  source.  They  possess 
an  old  and  familiar  proverb  —  viz.,  "  Obey  orders  if 
you  break  owners,"  and  nine-tenths  of  seafaring  men 
adopt  it  to  the  letter,  and  thus  avoid  blame. 

Two  weeks  after  leaving  home  we  were  startled  at 
about  six  o'clock  A.  M.,  by  the  look-outs  at  the  fore 
and  maintopgallant  cross-trees  singing  out,  "  There 
blows  !  there  blows  !  there  blows  !"  continuously,  at 
intervals  of  about  thirty  seconds.  After  about  ten 
minutes  of  vocal  execution,  they  cried  out,  "  There 
goes  flukes,"  emphasizing  with  great  force  the  second 
word  in  the  sentence.  This  was  confirmatoiy  of  the 
presence  of  sperm  whales,  and  as  their  yield  is  by 
fiir  greater  in  value  than  that  obtained  from  any 
other  fish,  Ave  of  course  were  anxious  to  capture  one 
or  more  of  them.  After  considerable  manoeuvring 
on  our  part,  attended  by  excitement  and  bustle,  three 
boats  were  lowered  away.  Several  hours  were  fruit- 
lessly spent  in  pulling  and  sailing,  when  the  chase 
was  given  up  as  hopeless,  the  whales  going  faster 


36  BLACKFISII. 

to  windward  than  we  could  pursue  them.  The 
weather  was  threatening,  the  sea  boisterous,  and 
therefore  our  seats  in  the  boat  were  neither  pleasant 
nor  dry;  consequently,  at  the  expiration  of  three  and 
a  half  hours,  we  returned  to  the  ship.  As  I  stepped 
aboard  of  her  I  felt  that  I  had  reached  home,  and 
ever  after  that,  as  long  as  I  belonged  to  her,  home 
and  the  old  barkey  were  to  me  synonymous  terms. 

Whilst  in  the  boats  I  saw  a  whale  breach  or  leap 
bodily  into  the  air,  his  vast  bulk  appearing  in  bas 
relief,  suspended  for  a  moment  in  mid  air  —  the  sky 
above,  the  sea  beneath  —  and  although  it  was  not  so 
perfect  a  display  of  the  creature's  immensity  and 
power  as  I  often  afterwards  witnessed,  still  I  was 
struck  with  the  greatness  of  the  Creator's  works  in 
this,  to  us,  almost  unknown  element. 

Soon  after  our  incursion  on  the  sperm  whale  terri- 
tory we  lowered  for  blackfish,  but  were  unsuccessful. 
This  is  not  our  legitimate  pursuit,  but  is  always  done 
in  good  weather  when  a  ship  has  a  green  crew ;  and 
in  many  instances  the  captain  makes  it  a  point  to 
lower  for  and  capture  them  whenever  the  opportunity 
presents  itself.  This  is  a  beautiful  fish,  from  twelve 
to  twenty-five  feet  in  length  ;  always  seen  in  immense 
numbers  herding  together,  as  if  for  mutual  protection ; 
they  have  a  jet  black,  smooth,  and  shining  skin,  un- 
marred  by  a  wrinkle,  which  in  the  sun  presents  a  beau- 
tiful appearance,  and  from  it  they  derive  their  name. 
The  shape  of  their  head  reminds  me  of  a  pug-nosed 
dog.  Unlike  the  sperm  whale  they  have  both  jaws 
furnished  with  teeth.  A  full  grown  fish  yields  from 
two  to  five  barrels  of  oil.  Their- meat  is  palatable  to 
my  taste,  although  I  could  not  recommend  it  to  an 


CORVO   AND    FLORES   ISLANDS.  37 

epicure  ashore ;  nor  would  I,  I  think,  partake  of  it 
anywhere  but  on  board  ship,  when  long  deprivation 
from  fresh  food  makes  anything,  not  saturated  by 
salt,  a  luxury.  It  is  in  appearance  somewhat  like 
beef,  but  coarser ;  it  is  minced  with  pork  and  fried 
in  balls  about  the  size  of  the  sausage  exposed  for 
sale  in  our  markets,  and  in  this  state  its  advent  is 
hailed  by  all  aboard  with  great  gusto. 

Their  oil  is  very  little  inferior  to  that  of  the  sperm 
whale ;  indeed,  although  I  have  never  analyzed  it, 
and  speak  merely  from  observation,  I  think  if  the 
same  care  and  attention  were  paid  to  trying  out  the 
blackfish  oil  as  is  accorded  to  the  preparation  of 
sperm  oil,  it  w^ould  be  found  that  the  oil  of  the 
former  possesses  all  the  good  qualities  of  the  latter. 
At  least  the  experiment  is  worthy  a  trial. 

On  the  12th  of  August,  1855,  we  novices  saw  for 
tlie  first  time  a  foreign  shore.  Its  appearance  was 
detected  by  an  experienced  hand  long  before  our 
eyes  could  discern  it,  and  when,  finally,  they  were 
pointed  out  to  us,  it  was  with  no  little  diflSiculty  that 
we  could  be  led  to  believe  the  two  islands  other  than 
clouds.  They  proved  to  be  Corvo  and  Flores,  of  the 
Azore  group,  or  as  they  are  familiarly  known,  the 
Western  Islands.  They  belong  to  Portugal,  which  rules 
them  with  an  iron  hand,  carrying  away  the  flower  of 
the  youth  born  here  to  support  the  throne  in  Europe. 
The  next  day  we  made  land,  and  signaled  the  barque 
Henry  Taber,  that  left  ]N'ew  Bedford  on  the  same  day 
as  ourselves.  We  passed  her  and  stood  close  in  to 
the  Island  of  Flores.  When  within  about  ten  miles 
of  the  land,  a  boat  containing  a  dozen  swarthy, 
grinning,  chattering  Portuguese,  boarded  us,  who, 
4 


38  FRUIT-SELLERS. 

immediately  on  touching  deck,  made  for  the  fore- 
castle, and  dove  into  the  bread  barge,  devouring  all 
it  contained  and  greedily  inquiring  for  more.  This 
modest  demand  not  being  complied  with,  they  offered 
for  sale  fruits,  comprising  apples,  oranges,  lemons, 
limes,  figs,  melons,  grapes  and  tomatoes;  also  straw 
hats,  milk,  and  aguardiente.  They  brought  us, 
amongst  other  edibles,  an  anomaly  known  to  sailors 
as  jackass  cheese;  it  is  in  round  cakes,  about  three 
inches  in  diameter,  and  of  the  color  of  cheese  made 
from  cow's  milk,  although  totally  dissimilar  in  taste 
to  any  other  cheese  I  have  eaten.  As  regards  its 
origin,  whether  produced  from  John  Horse,  goat,  or 
cow's  milk,  I  cannot  aver,  neither  do  I  care ;  but  its 
general  good  taste  and  appetizing  qualities  I  can 
vouch  for  from  having  partaken  of  it.  After  a  short 
time  another  boat  appeared,  bringing  us  eggs  and 
fowls  (and  knowing  a  sailor's  preference  for  potables), 
aoruardiente  and  sour  wine.  These  additions  to  our 
usual  sea  fare,  made  us  an  excellent  meal.  For  all  these 
dainties  these  people  were  willing  to  receive  tobacco, 
which,  on  account  of  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  in 
that  article  by  the  government,  commands  a  high 
price.  They  are  obliged  to  smuggle  it  ashore,  but 
from  the  careless  manner  in  which  they  stowed  it 
aw^ay  I  should  think  that  little  surveillance  is  exer- 
cised towards  the  inhabitants  by  the  excise  officers ; 
wdiilst  an  American  or  European  is  pretty  thoroughly 
searched  on  landing,  to  see  that  he  does  not  carry 
the  contraband  article. 

At  about  ten  A.  M.  the  captain  went  ashore  with 
a  boat's  crew,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  stores 
for  the  ship,  excellent  potatoes   and   onions  being 


THE   TOWN.  39 

produced  in  this  genial  climate,  and  from  the  little 
intercourse  these  peojDle  hold  with  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, can  be  obtained  at  a  mere  nominal  price.  On 
nearing  the  shore  we  found  the  coast  rocky  and  pre- 
cipitous, covered  with  herbage  of  the  richest  green  ; 
a  heavy  surf  was  beating  on  the  rocks,  but  we  landed 
by  tlie  assistance  of  the  Portuguese,  who  fearlessly 
plunged  into  the  water  and  hauled  our  boat  ashore. 
We  found  on  the  beach  a  concourse  of  dark  and 
light,  young  and  old,  male  and  female,  assembled  to 
meet  us ;  all  shoeless,  and  man}*  of  them  hatless ;  all 
making  a  noise  and  bounding  from  cliff  to  cliff  with 
little  less  agility  than  the  goats,  of  which  great  num- 
bers are  kept  for  the  sake  of  their  milk  and  skins. 
On  proceeding  to  the  town,  the  name  of  which  I 
never  could  discover,  not  having  seen  an  American 
who  knew,  or  a  Portuguese  who  could  tell  me  what 
it  was,  although  I  have  asked  the  question  fre- 
quently, always  with  the  same  result,  we  found  that 
it  was  built  without  regard  to  order  or  regularity  — 
the  buildings  of  stone.  Many  plats  of  ground  were 
surrounded  by  immense  stone  walls ;  some  of  these 
plats  are  not  more  than  sixteen  feet  square,  but  are 
enclosed  by  walls  two  feet  thick,  reminding  one  of 
the  masonry  in  tlie  German  castles  of  romance.  At 
the  town  we  saw  little  to  attract  except  the  merry 
appearance  of  the  female,  and  scowling  expression 
of  the  male  inhabitants ;  the  men  looking  upon  us, 
it  seemed,  as  intruders,  and  desiring  but  little  inter- 
course with  us  ;  the  women,  although  barefooted  and 
with  hair  unkempt,  their  negligent  dress  exposing 
rather  more  of  their  persons  than  accordant  with 
modesty,  were  more  than  affable ;  every  article  of  our 


40  LEWDNESS   OF  THE   WOMEN. 

apparel  that  was  exposed  to  their  view  being  made 
by  them  a  price  for  which  they  were  willing  to  pros- 
titute themselves ;  and  so  pertinacious  were  they,  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  a  sheath  knife  was  wrested 
from  one  of  them  by  a  blushing  boy  of  our  party  to 
whom  their  immodest  offers  (having  but  three  weeks 
previously  left  the  bosom  of  a  virtuous  family  of 
mother  and  sisters),  sounded  like  sacrilege,  and,  as  he 
afterwards  expressed  himself,  absolutely  appalled 
him.  We  saw  little  evidence  of  cultivation  in  the 
town ;  but  upon  inquiry  were  informed,  as  w^ell  as 
their  broken  English  could  enlighten  us,  that  the 
produce  grew  higher  up  —  in  the  mountains.  To 
scale  these  we  were  not  adventurous  enough  ;  so  we 
sat  down,  and,  after  some  bargaining,  procured  boiled 
eggs,  fruit,  bread,  and  sour  wine,  on  which  we  made 
a  hearty  repast.  I  observed  about  the  town  cows, 
pigs,  and  dogs,  but  neither  jackass  nor  donkey  ;  so  I 
do  not  think  the  aforesaid  long-eared  gentleman 
possesses  the  right  or  title  to  claim  the  paternity  of 
the  world-renowned  jackass  cheese ;  although  seamen, 
in  a  spirit  of  vagary,  have  given  to  it  the  appellation 
of  that  intellectual  animal. 

In  the  afternoon  we  went  off  to  the  ship,  got  our 
onions  and  potatoes  aboard,  and  carried  with  us  two 
Portuguese  boys,  about  seventeen  years  of  age — one 
of  whom  goes  into  the  forecastle  to  do  duty  as  a 
foremast  hand,  the  other,  into  the  steerage  as  steer- 
age boy.  Great  numbers  of  young  men  are  carried 
oft*  from  these  islands  annually,  by  American  whale- 
ships,  the  government  demanding  of  each  young 
man,  born  in  the  islands,  a  certain  amount  of  military 
duty  in  Europe.   To  emancipate  themselves  from  this 


THE   PORTUGUESE   AFLOAT.  41 

irksome  service  they  join  whalers,  as  after  an  absence 
on  the  part  of  one,  during  which  he  has  acquired  the 
English  language,  he  is  exempted  from  militaiy  duty. 
"VVhetlier  the  government  does  this  to  encourage  the 
development  of  knowledge,  or  that,  after  a  tarry  on 
his  part  amongst  the  republican  Americans,  they 
think-,,  him  too  liberal  in  sentiment  to  mingle  with 
other  servants  of  their  despotic  rule,  I  cannot  say. 
"When  these  people  first  come  aboard  the  ship  they 
are  indifi:erently  dressed,  and  invariably  barefooted  ; 
when  those  we  shipped  were  supplied  with  an  outfit 
of  sea  clothes,  they  were  greatly  astonished  and  de- 
lighted. They  are  a  very  economical  people,  and  by 
dint  of  washing  for  others,  patching,  at  which  in  a 
short  time  they  become  adepts,  and  other  little  jobs, 
they  soon  become  possessed  of  a  large  amount  of 
clothing,  which  they  hoard  up  and  gloat  over  as  a 
miser  would  his  gold.  They  are  shipped  for  little  or 
nothing  as  regards  remuneration,  scarcely  anything 
being  said  about  a  lay  on  either  side ;  but  the  captain, 
if  generous,  will  always  make  them  a  liberal  allow- 
ance on  the  ship's  arriving  at  I^ew  Bedford.  They 
are  generally  strong  and  able-bodied,  and  make  good 
w^orking-hands  to  pull  and  haul,  but,  except  in  rare 
instances,  do  not  rise  in  position  above  steering  a 
boat;  although  there  are  several  ships  at  present 
sailing  out  of  New  Bedford  w^hose  masters  are  Portu- 
guese by  birth,  yet  in  each  instance,  I  am  informed 
by  good  authority,  they  were  taken  from  the  islands 
at  a  very  early  age,  and  sent  to  school  in  America 
between  voyages.  When  they  first  come  aboard  they 
look  thin  and  cadaverous,  probably  from  their  almost 
entire  diet  being  vegetable;  but  in  a  short  time, 
4* 


42     PORTUGUESE  ACQUIREMENT  OF  ENGLISH. 

from  prodigious  indulgence  of  their  appetites  for 
flesh,  they  become  round  and  sleek.  Their  attenuated 
appearance  has  led  to  the  standing  joke  amongst 
sailors,  that  if  you  want  a  Portuguese  crew,  all  you 
have  to  do  is  to  run  close  in  to  one  of  the  Western 
Islands,  heave  a  hook  and  line  overboard  baited  with 
fat  pork,  and  in  a  few  minutes  you  will  catch  as 
many  as  you  want.  To  tell  the  Portuguese  this  is 
considered  by  them  as  a  bitter  afiVont,  they  always 
magnifying  their  position  ashore,  I  do  not  know  how 
many  times,  making  everything  grand,  as  they  ex- 
press it.  To  illustrate  their  passion  for  meat,  I  shall 
not  go  into  figures  as  regards  the  consumption,  as 
few,  if  any,  would  credit  my  bare  assertion ;  but  I 
will  state  that  one  of  the  boys  gained  sixty  pounds 
in  w^eight  during  the  first  ^vq  months  he  was  with  us. 

If  there  be  only  one  or  two  of  this  race  aboard, 
and  they  are  separated  in  different  parts  of  the  ship, 
and  not  allowed  too  frequently  to  converse  with  each 
other,  they  soon  acquire  English  and  become  useful ; 
but  if  there  are  half  a  dozen  together  in  the  fore- 
castle, they  jabber  and  chatter  their  unmusical  jargon 
from  morning  until  night,  and  will  go  a  three  years' 
voyage,  knowing  at  the  end  of  it  little  more  English 
than  is  embraced  in  the  technical  terms  of  the  service, 
which,  being  impressed  on  their  memory  with  a  kick 
or  blow  by  way  of  injunction,  thc}^  are  apt  to  retain. 

These  people  are,  or  profess  to  be,  devoted  to  their 
padres  or  fathers  in  the  church,  and  from  my  light 
observation  of  them  and  their  peculiarities,  I  should 
be  inclined  to  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  they  are 
totally  under  the  sway  of  their  Jesuitical  advisers ; 
but  I  must  about  ship  and  resume  the  thread  of  my 
narrative. 


GAMMOXING.  43 

Wliilst  lying  here  off  and  on  shore  we  gammoned 
the  ship  E.  L.  Jones,  of  l^ew  Bedford ;  the  barque 
Sea  Flower,  of  same  port,  and  schooner  Antarctic, 
of  Provincetown.  This  is  an  excellent  whaling- 
ground —  numbers  of  large  and  small  craft  are  con- 
tinually cruising  here,  and  in  the  course  of  a  voyage 
generally  do  well.  Gammoning  at  sea  is  the  term 
for  an  interchange  of  civilities  between  two  or  more 
ships,  and  is  much  in  vogue  amongst  whalemen,  who 
have  so  much  time  that  hangs  heavy  on  their  hands, 
and  are  glad  to  vary  the  monotony  by  the  sight  of  a 
stranger,  or,  if  a  later  arrival,  receiving  intelligence 
from  home.  When  a  ship  wishes  to  gammon  another, 
or,  as  it  is  pronounced  at  sea,  gam',  the  second  sylla- 
ble being  dispensed  with,  the  lee  ship  hauls  aback 
her  mainyard,  or  sets  a  signal  signifying  her  wish, 
the  weather  craft  squares  her  yards,  puts  her  helm 
up,  runs  across  the  other's  stern  and  speaks  her. 
Then  the  captain  of  one  lowers  away  and  boards  the 
other,  the  mate  returns  in  the  boat  with  a  fresh  crew, 
the  officers  resort  to  the  cabin,  the  boatsteerers  to 
the  steerage,  and  the  crew  to  the  forecastle.  As  soon 
as  breathing  time  is  allowed  to  the  visitors  they  are 
beset  by  a  dozen  querists,  who,  all  at  once,  want  to 
know  how  long  they  are  from  home,  what  success 
they  have  had,  and  the  birth-place,  or  place  of  resi- 
dence of  each.  For  instance,  here  one  steps  up  and 
inquires,  "  Any  ^N'ew  Yorkers  here,"  or  "  Any  Phila- 
delphia, Kew  Bedford,  or  Boston  chaps,"  whichever 
place  to  him  is  best  known  ;  and  if,  perchance,  he 
finds  a  townsman,  in  a  few  minutes  they  are  as  thick 
as  lovers,  and  as  far  advanced  in  friendship  as  an 
acquaintance  of  twenty  years  ashore  would  warrant ; 
and  ere  they  part  chests  are  thrown  open,  with  the 


44  GAMMOXING. 

injunction  to  help  yourself  added,  and  do  not  be 
backward  about  it  either.  Soon  after  some  one  calls 
for  a  song,  and  in  a  short  time,  after  some  pressing 
and  coaxing,  which  is  as  necessary  here  as  in  more 
select  circles,  the  time-worn,  but  sweet  melodies 
of  the  sea  are  sung,  if  not  with  artistic  correctness, 
with  spirit  —  all  hands  joining  in  the  chorus,  till  the 
old  ship  rings  again.  Meantime,  the  officers  in  the 
cabin  are  rehearsing  old  memories  of  whaling,  telling 
of  the  largest,  wickedest  and  quietest  whales  which 
they  have  borne  a  hand  at  taking;  dire  and  wonder- 
ful are  the  fish  stories  that  in  this  manner  receive 
birth.  These  relations,  assisted  by  the  genial  influ- 
ence of  the  bottle  and  the  pipe,  soon  while  away  the 
time,  and  ere  one  would  have  thought  it,  the  signal 
is  up  for  returning.  The  boatsteerers  are  killing 
time  in  much  the  same  manner,  lacking  only  the 
ardent ;  whilst  the  crew,  if  a  merry  set  of  fellows, 
have,  ere  this,  got  the  liddle  or  accordeon  player,  if 
one  is  aboard,  on  deck  (providing  that  it  is  good 
weather,  and  the  ship  on  an  even  keel),  and  are 
breaking  down  in  the  waist  at  a  rate  that  would  set 
a  French  dancing-master  crazy ;  but  it  is  all  the  same 
to  them  —  they  enjoy,  and  are  bound  to  make  sport 
of  it.  The  signal  for  returning  being  set,  books  are 
exchanged,  tobacco,  pipes,  and  in  cases  of  need,  arti- 
cles of  clothing  are  freely  presented,  and  the  visitors 
go  over  the  rail  into  their  boats,  with  "  God  bless  you. 
G-reasy  luck  to  you.  Take  care  of  yourself,  my 
hearties,"  or  some  other  equally  expressive  and  kindly 
wish  following  tliem ;  and  the  two  ships  resume  their 
courses  in  difierent  directions  to  different  quarters 
of  the  globe. 


FATAL  —  PEAK   OF   PICO.  45 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  next  day  after  leaving  Flores  we  passed  within 
sight  of  Fayal.  This  island  presented  a  gorgeous 
appearance;  the  many  vineyards  on  the  sloping 
side  of  the  mountains,  looking  to  us  like  so  many 
squares  in  a  quilt  of  the  most  luxurious  green,  form- 
ing a  patchwork  of  Dame  ]N'ature's  handiwork,  in 
inimitable  colors.  An  hour  after,  we  saw  the  Peak 
of  Pico,  rearing  its  cone-shaped  pinnacle  high  in  the 
clouds.  At  its  extreme  summit,  I  noticed  an  appear- 
ance resembling  a  chimney,  into  which,  I  was 
informed,  steps  were  hewn  for  the  convenience  of 
those  whom  curiosity  led  to  ascend  or  descend  the 
acclivity. 

About  this  time,  I  recollect,  we  had  our  first  ex- 
perience of  bending  on  to  a  sleeper.  It  is  customary 
in  good  weather  (particularly  whilst  running  down 
the  trades,  when,  from  the  regularity  of  the  winds, 
there  is  scarce  any  working  ship  to  be  done)  for  the 
members  of  the  watch,  with  the  exception  of  the  man 
at  the  wheel  and  another  on  the  look-out,  to  come  on 
deck,  provided  with  two  or  three  coats,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  indulging  in  a  caulk  or  sleep  on  deck.  As 
soon  as  the  watch  is  all  out,  and  the  officer  has  had 
a  look  to  assure  himself  of  the  fact,  a  soft  plank  iu 
the  deck  is  selected  on  which  one  spreads  himself, 
covering  up  snug  with  the  coats;  an  example 
religiously  followed  by  the  others.    Soon  they  are  as 


46  SLEEP   ON   DECK. 

soundly  asleep  as  if  in  a  comfortable  bed  at  home, 
unmindful  of  the  noise  made  by  the  creaking  of  the 
yards  and  rigging,  or  the  hissing  of  the  sea.  This 
practice  is  winked  at  by  the  officer  of  the  deck,  so 
long  as  all  are  at  hand  on  a  call ;  but  on  the  night 
to  which  I  now  have  reference,  all  the  comfortable 
places  under  the  lee  of  the  weather  rail  being  occu- 
pied, the  unlucky  wight  whose  dilatoriness  in  turning 
out  when  the  w^atch  was  called,  had  excluded  him 
from  forming  one  of  the  caulkers,  attracted  by  the 
inviting  appearance  of  the  forecastle,  and  thinking 
himself  unnoticed,  slipped  down,  deposited  himself 
on  the  chests,  and  was  soon  fast  asleep.  The  man  on 
the  look-out  having  seen  him  descend  the  ladder, 
waited  in  vain  for  his  exit,  and  after  allowing  him 
sufficient  time  to  get  into  a  deep  slumber,  w^ent  dow^n, 
assured  himself  of  the  fact,  and  then  woke  up  two  or 
three  of  the  sleepers  who  were  noted  for  their  indul- 
gence in  practical  jokes,  and  who  at  any  time  would 
forego  a  good  nap  to  enjoy  a  hearty  laugh.  Having 
informed  them  of  his  intentions,  the  mischievous 
trio  lashed  a  tail-block  to  a  barricade  of  spars  over 
the  forecastle,  rove  a  spare  piece  of  rope  through  it, 
and  attached  one  end  to  the  sleeper's  leg.  When  all 
was  in  readiness  they  awoke  the  remainder  of  the 
w^atch,  and  having  manned  the  fall  strong,  with  a 
long  pull,  a  strong  pull,  and  a  pull  altogether,  the 
poor  fellow  was  jerked  half  way  up  the  companion- 
w^ay  before  he  was  fully  awake.  Discovering  his 
position,  he  grasped  the  ladder  to  retard  his  ascent, 
and,  like  the  Knight  of  Snowdon,  bade  them  — 

"Come  one,  come  all,  this  rock  shall  fly 
From  its  firm  base  as  soon  as  I." 


PRACTICAL   JOKES.  47 

For  a  minute  the  jokers  were  non-plussed;  their 
victim  having  the  laugh  on  his  side ;  but  this  was 
soon  remedied  by  the  fastenings  of  the  ladder  giving 
away,  and  the  pendant  caulker  was  whipped  up  on 
deck  amid  the  jeers  of  his  companions.  This  remedy 
is  generally  effectual ;  but  I  have  seen  a  case  of  per- 
sistency in  this,  to  a  seaman,  odious  habit,  which 
after  everything  else  had  failed,  was  eradicated  by 
tying  the  caulker's  leg  fast  to  a  large  pig,  which, 
upon  being  roused  up  by  the  tormentors,  travelled 
fore  and  aft  the  deck  with  Kedge  Anchor  in  tow. 
Previous  to  this  he  had  been  repeatedly  soused  with 
water,  bent  on  to,  made  fast  to  the  bell,  getting  a 
reprimand  for  the  peal  he  unwittingly  rang,  and 
lashed  to  the  studding-sails  on  the  forecastle,  where, 
at  times,  he  would  remain  the  greater  part  of  the 
night;  but  all  to  no  purpose,  until  a  humorous 
genius  one  night,  when  nothing  else  was  on  the 
carpet,  proposed  uniting  Kedge  to  the  porker,  and,  as 
I  before  stated,  the  remedy  was  effectual. 

Our  cook,  a  German,  who  had  been  to  sea  before, 
having  an  eye  to  creature  comforts,  purchased,  whilst 
at  Flores,  a  number  of  jackass  cheeses.  These  he 
had  carefully  saved,  intending  to  make  them  last  as 
long  as  he  possibly  could,  and  for  this  purpose  he  locked 
them  up  in  his  chest;  but,  unfortunately,  during  the 
night  some  person  or  persons  went  clandestinely  to 
his  chest  and  feloniously  appropriated  the  cheeses 
therein  to  his  or  their  benefit.  The  cook,  on  the 
whole,  was  a  good-natured  fellow,  but  losing  his 
cheeses  soured  his  disposition,  and  he  swore  ven- 
geance. His  Dutch  oaths  soon  attracted  attention, 
and  old  Jack,  as  the  oldest  man  in  the  forecastle, 


48  DETECTING   A  THIEF. 

was  appointed  inquisitor,  to  find  out  the  perpetrator 
or  perpetrators  of  the  heinous  crime ;  sailors  viewing 
theft  from  a  shipmate,  even  of  the  slightest  article, 
as  an  offence  second  in  enormity  only  to  murder ; 
and  woe  betide  the  poor  wretch  who  is  detected  in 
the  act,  as  he  can  never  recover  an  intimate  footing 
with  his  shipmates. 

I  said  that  old  Jack  was  appointed  inquisitor.  He 
went  about  his  task  very  methodically.  Taking  a 
immber  of  matches,  he  handed  one  to  each  of  the 
denizens  of  the  forecastle,  stating  that  he  would  call 
on  them  to  return  them  in  half  an  hour,  and  that 
the  one  who  should  then  have  possession  of  the  longest 
one  would  be  considered  the  culprit.  On  calling  the 
matches  in,  one  was  found  to  have  been  broken  off 
by  its  recipient,  and  information  was  immediately 
given  to  the  captain  by  old  Jack,  who  had  satisfied 
himself  regarding  the  guilty  party.  The  boy  was 
questioned,  but  denied  the  point  so  strenuously  that 
we  did  not  know  whether  to  think  him  guilty  or  not. 
The  captain  let  it  pass  without  further  remark,  and 
some  twelve  months  afterwards  we  discovered  the 
offender;  then  the  boy  who  had  previously  been 
suspected,  acknowledged  that  he  had  broken  oft'  his 
match  so  that  there  should  be  no  question  about  his 
having  the  longest  one ;  and  in  his  endeavors  to  ward 
off  suspicion,  took  the  readiest  means  of  arousing  it 
—  old  Jack  saying  that  his  conscious  guilt  caused 
him  to  break  his  match. 

When  our  !N"orth  latitude  had  been  almost  run  out 
we  were  struck  by  a  very  heavy  squall.  By  working 
smart  we  managed  to  get  all  snug  without  being 
damaged.    On  the  succeeding  morning  we  saw  three 


VESSELS   IN   DISTRESS.  49 

merchant  vessels,  one  of  whom  had  lost  her  main- 
topmast;  a  second,  her  foretopgallant  mast;  and  the 
third  a  whole  suite  of  sails.  A  fourth  vessel,  that 
we  saw  to  windward  in  distress,  with  several  vessels 
around  her,  appeared  from  her  heavy  rolling  to  be 
water-logged.  During  the  night  she  fired  rockets 
and  blue-lights.  All  these  vessels,  as  we  ascertained, 
had  met  these  casualties  in  the  squall  that  we  expe- 
rienced. It  is  customary  with  merchant  vessels  to 
hang  on  to  their  canvass  until  the  very  last  minute, 
and,  as  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  these  ships  go  short- 
handed,  the  consequence  is,  that  when  a  heavy  squall 
breaks  upon  them,  something  must  go  before  they 
get  their  sails  stowed.  If  asked  their  reason  for 
crowding  sail  in  such  a  manner,  they  will  answer  you 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  that  "  Time  is  money ;" 
but  it  is  not  so  with  a  whaleship,  except  when  home- 
ward bound — then  everything  that  a  ship  will  drag  or 
carry  is  packed  on  to  her  to  make  her  keep  pace  with 
the  impatient  spirits  aboard.  When  on  the  whaling- 
ground,  however,  the  ship  is  allowed  to  glide  along 
under  easy  sail,  royal  yards,  studding-sail  booms,  and, 
if  in  boisterous  latitudes,  the  foretopgallant  mast  is 
sent  down,  and  the  flying  jib-boom  is  sent  in,  so  that 
if  bad  weather  comes  on  suddenly,  the  little  canvass 
spread  makes  her  easy  to  handle.  Another  advantage 
the  whaler  possesses,  she  has  thirty-four  or  ^ve  men  to 
handle  a  vessel  of  three  or  four  hundred  tons,  whereas 
a  merchant  ship  of  the  same  size  would  not  have  more 
than  a  dozen;  hence  the  great  proportionate  dis- 
parity between  the  accidents  to  whalemen  and  mer- 
chantmen. The  whaler  is  better  manned,  and  is  not 
drove  under  by  a  press  of  sail,  whilst  the  latter  is 
5  D 


60  ANGLING  FOR  THE  DOLPHIN. 

groaning  under  her  burden  from  the  time  she  leaves 
dock  until  the  time  she  returns  to  it;  providing  there 
is  breeze  enough  to  keep  her  going. 

From  this  time  until  we  reached  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  little  of  interest  transpired.  Occasionally  we 
were  called  to  look  over  the  rail  and  see  the  fin-back 
whale  sending  his  spout  in  a  spiral  column  towards 
the  clouds ;  or  the  blackfish,  grampus,  or  porpoise, 
gambolling  amongst  the  great  waves.  At  times  the 
scene  was  diversified  by  the  appearance  of  the  shark, 
dolphin,  benita,  and  fiying-fish,  each  preying  on  the 
other.  The  last  three  mentioned  are  easily  caught, 
and  are  eagerly  angled  for  by  seamen.  The  manner 
of  catching  the  dolphin  and  skip-jack  is  to  bait  the 
hook  with  a  piece  of  white  rag,  and  allow  it  to  sway 
with  the  vessel's  motion.  The  fish  thinks  it  a  flying- 
fish  taking  its  flight,  rushes  towards  it  and  gulps 
it  down.  I  had  often  heard  stories  of  the  dolphin's 
extraordinary  change  of  color  when  dying,  but  must 
confess  myself  so  unromantic  as  to  say,  I  think  there 
is  so  little  change  in  his  colors  that  none  but  the  most 
acute  observer  could  detect  it.  His  beauty  is  confined 
to  the  period  when  sporting  in  his  native  element; 
then  his  motions  are  full  of  grace  and  vigor;  but 
caught  and  landed  on  deck,  he  is  a  flat  fish  with  a 
round  head,  and  great,  goggle,  staring  eyes.  His 
flesh,  however,  is  indiflferent  eating,  as  is  that  of  the 
benita.  The  latter,  when  caught,  goes  into  spasms, 
shaking  like  a  man  with  an  ague  fit,  sometimes  dis- 
jointing the  vertebra  in  its  throes.  They  are  at  times 
80  violent,  that  if  the  fish  is  large  a  man  cannot  hold 
one. 

The  flying-fish,  the  last  that  I  mentioned,  has  been 


SIR !  51 

so  often  described,  that  I  shall  not  attempt  it.  It  is 
preyed  upon  both  by  larger  fish  and  by  the  birds.  I 
have  seen  the  tropic  birds  and  dolphin  acting  so 
nearly  in  concert,  as  almost  to  convince  one  that 
they  understood  each  other's  mode  of  operation. 
The  dolphin  would  chase  the  little  creatures  until 
they  would  take  to  their  wings,  when  the  tropic  bird, 
or  garnet  (which  is  a  beautiful  white  bird,  about  the 
size  of  our  common  pigeon,  with  red  legs  and  bill, 
and  a  tail  resembling  a  marling-spike,  by  which  name 
they  usually  go  amongst  sailors),  would  pounce  upon 
them ;  and,  tired  with  their  aerial  flight,  they  would 
again  resort  to  the  water,  only  to  become  a  prey  to 
their  finny  enemy. 

With  the  usual  variations  of  weather  we  wended 
our  course  through  the  South  Atlantic — at  one  time 
becalmed,  at  another  struggling  with  a  heavy  gale, 
until  we  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Islands  of 
Tristan  D'Acunha,  w^hen  one  morning  we  were 
startled  by  our  mastheadsman  shouting,  "There 
blows  !  and  a  forked  spout,  sir.''  This  informed  us 
of  the  presence  of  right  whales ;  their  spout,  unlike 
that  of  other  whales,  being  forked.  Our  boats  were 
lowered  ;  but  we  had  no  sooner  got  in  their  neigh- 
borhood than  they  peaked  their  flukes  and  went  to 
windward,  eyes  out  —  which  means  as  fast  as  the 
wind.  It  was  useless  to  follow  them,  and  we  returned 
aboard  with  fishermen's  luck — a  wet  skin,  and 
hungry  stomach. 

When  down  in  the  boats  at  this  time  I  had  a 
near  view  of  a  whale.  We  were  not  more  than 
a  boat's  length  from  a  large  one,  when  he  sounded, 
and,   as  he   threw  his  tail  in  the  air,   I  had  an 


62  BIRDS   IN   THE   SOUTH   ATLANTIC. 

excellent  sight  of  his  small  and  flukes.  Wliat  I  felt 
I  cannot  describe ;  but  the  shining  skin  covering 
all,  and  the  manifestation  of  power  and  bulk,  in 
every  movement,  made  me  think  of  some  vast  piece 
of  iron  machinery ;  and  I  cannot  imagine  a  more 
effective  battering  ram  than  a  whale's  flukes  em- 
ployed by  himself. 

In  these  latitudes  we  saw  numbers  of  varied  speci- 
mens of  the  ornithological  family.  The  albatross, 
monimoke,  old  horse,  noddy,  cape  pigeon,  garnet, 
mutton  bird,  and  Mother  Carey's  chicken  or  petrel, 
all  existing  here  in  great  numbers.  The  albatross  I 
have  seen  measure  fifteen  feet  from  the  extremity  of 
one  wing  to  the  tip  of  the  other.  It  is  a  beautiful 
bird,  and  comes  around  a  ship  in  great  numbers 
when  a  whale  is  alongside.  They  are  ever  on  the 
alert  for  something  to  eat,  appear  at  all  times 
hungry,  and  their  voraciousness  makes  them  an  easy 
prey.  They  are  often  caught.  Their  quills  are  not  fit 
for  pens,  but  are  used  by  sailors  to  splice  their  pipes ; 
their  feathers  are  used  in  making  beds  and  pillows ; 
their  feet  are  skinned  and  made  into  tobacco-pouches; 
whilst  the  head  and  bill  are  cleaned  and  taken  home 
as  a  curiosity.  As  a  general  thing  they  are  not  eaten ; 
but  our  cook  at  one  time  agreed  to  cook  them,  if  we 
would  catch  and  dress  them.  They  were  soon  ready 
for  him ;  and  after  being  cooked  they  were  very  pala- 
table, although  they  had  an  oily  flavor,  somewhat 
resembling  that  of  the  canvas-back  duck.  The 
mess  having  succeeded  so  well,  it  became  a  favorite, 
but  was  indulged  in  so  often  that  it  soon  fell  into 
distaste,  and  the  practice  was  not  again  revived ;  the 
more  so,  as  the  captain  had  a  peculiar  regard  for  the 


BIRDS   IX   THE    SOUTH   ATLANTIC.  53 

birds,  and  professed  to  place  implicit  confidence  in 
the  assertion,  that  if  they  were  misused  by  a  ship's 
crew,  those  who  maltreated  them  would  assuredly 
meet  with  some  evil  fortune. 

The  Cape  pigeon  is  a  beautiful  bird,  about  the  same 
size  as  our  domestic  bird  of  the  same  name.  They 
are  uniform  in  color,  alternate  stripes  of  black  and 
white  coursing  their  plumage. 

The  monimoke,  and  old  horse,  resemble  in  appear- 
ance the  albatross,  but  are  not  more  than  half  its 
size.  At  times,  from  the  similarity  of  their  appear- 
ance, I  have  been  led  to  suppose  them  their  young ; 
and  as  regards  the  monimoke,  I  am  still  at  a  loss  to 
determine  as  to  whether  the  goney  has  a  claim  to  its 
paternity  or  not:  but  the  old  horse  or  stinker,  by 
both  of  which  names  it  is  indiscriminately  known, 
is  a  totally  distinct  species ;  and  when  handled,  it 
emits  a  most  offensive  odor,  which  clings  with 
tenacity  to  its  feathers  long  after  being  separated 
from  the  bird. 

The  diver  is  about  the  size  of  the  pigeon,  and  is 
only  remarkable  for  the  great  depth  to  which  it 
descends  in  search  of  food.  The  spectator  may  be 
watching  the  bird  gracefully  sailing  on  the  surface  of 
the  water,  when  suddenly  it  disappears  from  view, 
and  if  the  water  be  clear,  he  may  be  seen,  with  his 
pinions  spread,  pursuing  his  course  through  it  with 
as  much  facility  as  if  he  were  in  the  air,  for  fathoms 
below  the  surface.  After  a  short  time  he  gradually 
ascends,  until,  emerging  from  the  w^ater,  he  takes 
wing  and  skims  through  the  air,  unwearied  by  his 
immersion. 

The  petrel,  or  Mother  Carey's  chicken,  is  a  pretty 
5* 


64  MADAGASCAR. 

bird,  smaller  than  the  swallow,  and  quick  as  light- 
ning in  its  movements;  although  so  small,  it  is 
found  in  company  with  the  larger  birds  unmolested. 

At  sea  not  only  do  we  see  marine  birds,  but  often, 
when  near  any  point  or  headland,  we  are  visited  by 
land  birds,  who,  blown  off  from  the  land,  pursue  their 
bewildered  flight  until  exhausted,  or,  meeting  a  vessel, 
they  alight  upon  it  to  refresh  their  wearied  forms. 
At  first  they  fly  around  and  around  the  ship,  as  if 
fearful  of  molestation,  when,  overcome  by  fatigue, 
they  forget  their  natural  dread  of  mankind,  and 
alight  in  the  boats,  or  on  deck,  unable  to  move 
farther.  Their  wants  are  supplied  by  the  sailors,  and 
fresh  water,  of  which  they  appear  most  in  need,  given 
them.  After  a  stoppage  of  twelve  or  twenty-four 
hours  they  renew  their  flight,  always  in  the  direction 
of  land. 

After  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  we 
effected  without  experiencing  extraordinarily  heavy 
weather,  we  spent  several  weeks  in  beating  up  to- 
wards Port  Dauphin,  in  the  Island  of  Madagascar, 
off'  which  is  a  noted  locality  for  the  sperm  whale 
fishery.  Finding  that  we  made  but  little  headway, 
we  kept  away  for  the  off-shore,  St.  Paul's  ground,  and 
after  a  fine  run  found  ourselves  among  the  right 
whales.  Here  we  saw  several  vessels  —  the  Pioneer 
and  Catharine,  of  'New  Bedford,  and  the  Monmouth, 
of  Cold  Springs.  These  vessels  had  been  absent 
from  the  United  States  twelve  months  each,  and  had 
aboard  from  one  hundred  to  ^ve  hundred  barrels  of 
oil.  The  Monmouth  reported  having  lost  a  boat  and 
a  boat's  crew,  a  few  weeks  previous,  at  the  Island 
of  St.  Paul's.     The  boat  was  headed  by  her  second 


THE  OIIASE.  55 

mate,  who  had  remained  fast  to  a  whale  until  drawn 
into  the  breakers,  w^hich  left  not  a  vestige  of  the  boat 
or  crew^  in  their  pitiless  destruction. 

On  this  ground,  after  numerous  lowerings  away 
and  coming  aboard  —  after  seeing  whales  almost 
daily,  although  we  found  it  impossible  to  get  within 
gun-shot  of  them,  they  appearing  shy  and  not 
at  home  —  one  Sunday  afternoon  the  mate  and 
fourth  mate  lowered  away,  the  other  boats  being 
retained  aboard  the  ship.  ^N'o  sooner  were  we  down 
than,  encouraged  by  the  regular  movements  of  the 
fish,  w^e  w^ere  convinced  we  should  make  a  capture, 
and  therefore  the  chase  was  conducted  with  an  eager- 
ness not  displayed  in  our  former  lowerings  away. 
1^0  sooner  had  we  touched  the  water  in  the  larboard 
boat,  than  the  mate,  after  glancing  at  the  spout,  gave 
us  orders  to  shove  the  boat  clear  of  the  ship ;  then 
"  Out  with  your  oars,  my  hearties ;"  and  to  make  us 
the  more  eager,  he  offered  us  a  dollar  apiece  should 
w^e  make  a  capture.  As  we  neared  the  whale,  sink- 
ing his  voice  to  a  whisper,  he  urged  us  to  greater 
exertions,  by  continually  speaking  of  the  whale. 
*'  There  she  lays,  my  boys ;  an  old  soaker,  with  a 
back  as  broad  as  the  deck  of  our  ship.  Pull,  lads, 
pull  with  a  will !  Give  way  !  every  man,  fore  and 
aft.  Do  pull !  The  boat  scarcely  moves.  Now  one 
^more  try.  She  is  only  two  seas  off.  What  do  .you 
say  now.  Put  the  boat  right  on  top  of  her.  Pull 
hard,  do  pull !"  I^Tow  we  draw  nearer  and  nearer, 
and  his  enthusiasm  is  at  a  boiling  heat  for  fear  that 
w^e  will  yet  lose  the  whale ;  and  determined  to  give 
vent  to  his  excitement,  he  offers  all  his  clothes,  all 
his  tobacco,  and  all  his  money,  if  we  will  only  get 


66  THE    CAPTURE. 

the  boat  alongside  the  fish,  which  by  this  time  is  done. 
Just  as  the  mate  heaves  his  hat  over  in  despair,  the 
boat  glides  against  the  monster's  unwieldy  carcass 
at  a  portion  of  his  body  w^hich  secures  us  from  the 
sweep  of  his  immense  flukes,  and  the  boatsteerer 
springs  to  his  feet,  and,  with  nervous  arm,  drives  his 
harpoon  to  the  socket  in  the  yielding  blubber.  The 
mate  now  loses  his  excited  manner,  and,  throwing 
the  boat  from  the  whale  to  escape  the  mighty  effort 
he  makes  for  our  destruction,  again  becomes  the  cool 
and  steady  whaleman  ;  but  our  work  is  not  yet  done. 
IsTo  sooner  is  the  fish  struck,  than  off*  he  goes,  like  a 
charger  with  the  bit  in  his  teeth,  perfect!}^  unman- 
ageable, and  for  an  hour  we  dash  through  the  water 
at  locomotive  speed,  until  the  whale  exhausts  himself 
with  the  violence  of  the  effort.  ISTow  comes  the 
order  to  haul  line,  and  the  boat  is  gradually  drawn 
into  the  whale's  neighborhood,  when  a  bomb  lance 
is  discharged,  and,  fortunately,  is  lodged  on  the  line 
of  the  vertebra,  disabling  his  whaleship  from  farther 
flight.  They  were  cognizant  of  our  operations 
aboard  the  ship,  where  the  mastheadsman  sung 
out,  "There  he  gives  it  to  him,"  the  moment  we 
fastened;  and  immediately  after,  "The  larboard 
boat's  fast."  The  two  boats  on  the  cranes  were 
lowered  away,  manned,  and  pulled  for  the  scene  of 
action.  They  arrived  in  about  fifteen  minutes  after 
the  whale  was  struck.  The  waist  boat  was  the  second 
fast.  The  fish  was  bleeding  at  every  pore,  hand- 
lances  having  been  darted  into  him.  He  attempted 
to  descend,  but  his  debility  from  loss  of  blood  pre- 
vented him  going  but  a  few  feet  below  the  surface ; 
he  lay  and  rolled,  opening  wide  his  huge  jaws,  dis- 


DEMEANOR    OF   A   BOAT'S    CREW.  57 

playing  his  flabby  tongue,  lashing  the  water  with  his 
gigantic  flukes,  and  bellowing  like  a  whole  bevy  of 
mad  bulls,  from  the  intense  pain  he  sufi*ered  in  dying. 
The  other  boats,  on  coming  up,  fastened,  and  soon 
the  bloody  discharge  from  his  spout  holes  became 
thicker,  until  it  had  obtained  the  consistency  of  tar, 
when  the  suffering  brute,  moderating  its  bellowing 
to  gasps  and  sobs,  slowly  described  a  circle,  throwing 
its  head  toward  the  sun,  and  after  a  brief  but  terrific 
struggle,  rolled  fin  out,  without  life  or  motion.  We 
then  cut  a  hole  through  the  flukes  and  towed  him  in 
triumph  to  the  ship. 

I  will  now,  before  going  farther,  describe  the  de- 
meanor of  a  boat's  crew  when  fast  to  a  whale.  In 
the  first  place  the  ofiicer  goes  close  enough  to  the 
whale  to  give  the  boatsteerer  a  good  opportunity  to 
strike  him.  As  soon  as  the  irons  leave  his  hand  the 
head  of  the  boat  is  thrown  from  the  whale,  to  avoid 
the  sweep  of  his  tremendous  tail,  which  he  invariably 
exercises  the  moment  he  is  struck.  The  officer  and 
boatsteerer  now  exchange  positions,  the  boatsteerer 
assuming  the  management  of  the  boat,  whilst  the 
officer  takes  his  position  in  the  bows,  and,  by  the 
assistance  of  the  bow  oarsman,  clears  away  a  lance, 
preparatory  to  striking  the  fatal  blow.  The  whale, 
on  being  struck,  either  sounds,  or  rushes  with  great 
rapidity  over  the  surface  of  the  water.  In  either  case 
the  line  runs  out  with  marvellous  rapidity,  and  water 
is  continually  poured  upon  it  to  prevent  the  wood  from 
igniting  by  friction.  Shortly  afterwards,  if  the  whale 
has  moderated  his  speed,  the  line  is  manned  by  all  the 
crew  of  the  boat,  with  the  exception  of  the  boatsteerer 
and  after-oarsman,  who  are  busily  occupied  coiling 


58  CUTTING   IN. 

it  away  in  the  stern  sheets  of  the  boat,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent its  entangling,  if  again  run  out  by  the  whale, 
and  the  boat  is  hauled  close  to  him,  so  as  to  give  the 
officer  an  opportunity  to  lance  and  despatch  him. 
If  he  shows  a  good  chance,  this  is  the  work  of  but  a 
few  minutes,  and  the  monster  is  turned  up  with  little 
or  no  trouble ;  but  it  often  happens  that  hours  inter- 
vene, before  3^ou  have  an  opportunity  to  kill  the 
whale,  and  oftentimes  are  obliged  to  cut,  from  the 
near  approach  of  nightfall.  But  to  return  to  our 
whale.  We  got  him  alongside,  and  made  him  fast  by 
a  strong  chain,  encircling  his  flukes,  passed  through, 
the  hawse-hole,  and  secured  to  the  bitts  on  the  fore- 
castle ;  then  a  hole  was  cut  close  to  the  whale's  eye, 
the  tackles  attached,  the  cutting  fall  taken  to  the 
windlass,  and  with  a  meny  song  we  bowsed  his  jacket 
in,  stripping  the  blubber  from  the  carcass,  and  allow- 
ing the  latter,  with  the  flukes,  to  go  adrift.  'Next  the 
head  was  hove  in  and  lashed  on  the  quarter-deck,  then 
several  men  with  axes  split  the  bone  from  the  jaw,  to 
which  it  was  attached  by  an  adhesive  substance  known 
as  the  gum  ;  it  was  then  scraped,  in  preparation  for  the 
liome  market,  and,  after  scraping,  stowed  away  in  the 
hold,  where  no  moisture  could  reach  it.  The  appear- 
ance of  this  bone  in  the  jaw,  before  separation,  is  beau- 
tiful; its  regular  arrangement,  and  long,  fringe-like 
edging,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  an  artificial  grotto. 
After  disposing  of  the  head  and  heaving  in  all  the 
blubber,  this,  as  fast  as  stripped,  is  deposited  be- 
tween decks  in  the  main  hold  —  which  apartment  is 
designated  as  the  "blubber-room."  The  try  works 
being  started,  two  men  go  into  the  blubber-room,  and, 
with  sharp  spades  and  knives,  cut  off  the  lean  from 


TRYING   OUT.  59 

the  blubber,  and  divide  the  fat  into  pieces  about  six 
inches  wide  by  eighteen  in  length,  suitable  for  the 
mincing-machine.  They  then,  with  pikes,  pitch  it 
into  a  tub  placed  on  deck  for  its  reception,  whence  it 
is  carried  to  the  machine,  where  it  is  minced  into 
pieces  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  consigned  to 
the  pot.  After  all  the  oil  is  separated  from  it,  the 
scraps  are  taken  from  the  pot  and  the  oil  poured  into 
a  copper  cooler,  whence  it  runs  into  a  cool  try  pot,  and 
thence  is  bailed  into  casks,  which  are  rolled  on  to 
the  quarter-deck,  where  it  is  allowed  to  cool  prepara- 
tory to  stow^ing  below  in  the  hold.  Meantime  the 
pots  are  again  filled  up,  and  the  scraps  from  the  pre- 
ceding pot  are  used  in  heating  the  works  —  these 
scraps  forming  an  excellent  and  remarkably  economi- 
cal fuel ;  foi*  if  the  whale  did  not  furnish  material 
for  rendering  its  own  oil,  the  fuel  which  would  have 
to  be  substituted  would  be  a  costly  item.  From  the 
embers,  united  with  fresh  water,  an  excellent  l^^e  is 
made,  which  is  useful  in  extracting  grease  from 
clothes,  washing  the  paint  work  and  so  forth.  The 
oil  is  usually  allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours 
before  stowing  below,  and  when  ready  a  trap  is 
removed,  which  is  cut  through  the  deck,  a  tub  lashed 
under  it  between  decks,  and  a  hose  with  a  cock 
attached ;  a  cask  is  now  rolled  on  to  this  trap,  the 
bung  extracted,  a  vent  pipe  introduced,  and  soon  the 
whole  produce  of  the  fish  is  in  the  hold,  never  to  be 
removed,  except  in  case  of  leakage,  during  the 
remainder  of  the  voyage.  This  whale  made  us  ninety 
barrels  of  oil.  After  capturing  him,  we  remained 
on  this  ground  for  several  weeks,  without  farther 
success  in  increasing  our  cargo;   in   two  instances 


60  COLLISION  —  FOUL  LINE. 

the  boatsteerer  missing  whales,  and  in  a  third  striking 
one  with  the  irons,  causing  him  to  spout  blood ;  but 
most  of  the  chief  mate's  line  being  run  out,  he  bent 
to  his  that  belonging  to  the  bow  boat.  On  its  passage 
from  the  tub,  it  brought  with  it  a  formidable  array 
of  harpoons  and  lances,  with  which  it  had  become 
entangled.  *'Foul  line,"  was  sung  out,  the  line 
severed,  and  the  whale  allowed  to  go  adrift.  "We 
saw  him  for  some  time  afterward,  and  bending  to  our 
oars,  we  pulled  to  windward  with  a  will,  in  pursuit 
of  him,  but  to  no  purpose.  Whilst  chasing  him  to 
windward,  the  bomb-lance  gun,  in  the  mate's  boat, 
w^ent  off  without  leave,  and  pierced  a  hole  through 
the  head  of  the  boat,  so  disabling  her,  that  she  had 
to  return  aboard ;  as  we  all  did  at  noon.  Afterward  the 
whale  came  close  to  the  ship,  and,  peaking  his  flukes, 
gave  us  a  view  of  our  line,  wound  in  a  thousand 
contortions  around  his  small  and  tail.  We  aerain 
lowered  for  him,  but  without  success. 

On  the  12th  of  November,  a  merchant  barque  ran 
across  our  stern,  which,  on  speaking,  we  discovered 
to  be  the  Eliza  Carrew,  of  Boston.  So  far,  all  was 
very  well ;  but  on  crossing  our  stern,  she  luflfed  up 
under  our  lee,  and,  our  sails  taking  the  wind  from 
hers,  she  became  unmanageable.  The  next  moment 
she  was  aboard  of  us,  crushing  the  lee  boats  to 
pieces,  carrying  away  cranes  and  davits,  snapping 
off  the  spanker-boom,  and  carrying  away  the  entire 
larboard  mizzen  rigging.  After  a  short  interval  she 
got  clear  from  us,  when  we  found  that  she  had  not 
escaped  scot  free.  We  saw  that  her  maintopsail 
yard  was  snapped  off  outside  the  head  ear-ring,  her 
foreyard  carried  away  in  the  slings,  and  about  twenty 


SPARE    BOATS    REQUIRED.  61 

feet  of  her  bow  rail,  on  the  starboard  side,  stoven  to 
atoms.  After  the  two  vessels  had  swung  clear  from 
each  other,  the  third  mate  and  his  boatsteerer  jumped 
into  the  bow  boat,  which  had  broken  down  and  lay 
floating  alongside,  for  the  purpose  of  saving  the 
craft.  Almost  as  soon  as  they  got  into  her,  she 
became  detached  from  the- ship,  drifted  astern,  and 
capsized ;  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  lower  away  our 
only  whole  boat,  that  on  the  starboard  quarter,  to 
rescue  the  two  adventurers,  who  were  taking  it  very 
coolly,  seated  on  the  bottom  of  the  wreck.  In  a 
short  time  we  had  them  aboard  the  ship ;  but  in 
the  operation,  the  bow  of  the  starboard  boat  came 
in  contact  with  the  stoven  one,  and  had  a  hole 
knocked  into  it.  So  here  we  were  on  a  whaling- 
ground,  in  the  height  of  the  season,  with  plenty  of 
whales  around  us,  without  a  single  whole  boat  on  the 
cranes ;  and  were  it  not  that  we  had  spare  boats,  the 
damage  would  have  been  irreparable ;  as  on  this  side 
the  Good  Hope,  whale-boats  cannot  be  procured  at 
any  port  nearer  than  Hobartown,  and  this,  involving 
a  long  run,  loss  of  time,  and  port  expenses,  to  com- 
pass it,  would  have  caused  a  total  forfeiture  of  the 
whole  season's  work.  The  broken  boat  was  hoisted 
aboard,  and  then  the  Carrew  ran  close  to  and  spoke 
us,  asking  if  all  was  right  with  our  vessel  and 
men.  Our  captain  answered  quickly  and  curtly, 
and  in  an  undertone  desired  him  to  take  his  de- 
parture, for,  should  he  repeat  his  manoeuver,  he  would 
give  him  occasion  to  regret  it.  During  the  whole  of 
this  time,  and  for  weeks  subsequent  to  the  accident, 
we  were  under  the  impression,  as  she  had  shown  no 
colors,  that  she  was  a  Johnny  Crapeau,  and  sailed 
6 


62  FALL   FROM   ALOFT. 

under  the  tri-color;  but  we  learned  afterward  that 
she  was  a  Boston  ship.  Different  reasons  were 
assigned  by  different  individuals  as  to  the  cause  of 
the  unsearaanlike  conduct  in  managing  the  Carrew ; 
Bome  stating  that  they  distinctly  heard  her  captain 
ask  ours  for  a  porpoise  iron,  and  supposed  that  he 
came  close  to  us  in  order  to  have  it  handed  aboard 
without  the  bother  of  lowering  a  boat ;  whilst  others, 
less  charitable,  stated  that  she  w^as  loaded  with  liquor 
from  the  Mauritius :  that  the  captain  had  broken 
bulk,  and  imbibed  so  much  that  it  had  set  his  wits 
wool-gathering.  As  to  the  first  reason  assigned, 
having  heard  nothing  regarding  the  iron,  I  can  give 
no  opinion  ;  as  to  the  second,  not  having  data  suffi- 
cient to  draw  so  sweeping  a  charge  from,  I  will  not 
advance  so  gross  an  accusation,  but  allow  the  matter 
to  rest:  the  public,  of  course,  having  heard  from  the 
master  of  the  Carrew  his  version  of  the  matter,  as  we 
saw  by  the  papers  that  he  had  reported  the  collision 
on  his  arriving  at  port.  On  the  whole,  both  vessels 
were  extremely  fortunate  in  escaping  with  so  little 
injury;  as  two  vessels  seldom  come  into  contact,  even 
in  port,  where  they  are  in  smooth  water,  without  the 
result  being  much  more  disastrous  than  in  our  case. 
It  is  said  that  misfortunes  seldom  come  singly ; 
and,  indeed,  in  the  experience  of  a  lifetime,  circum- 
stances seem  to  justify  the  correctness  of  the  adage. 
So  it  was  in  our  case.  A  short  time  previous  to  our 
last  misfortune,  the  larboard  watch  was  sent  aloft  to 
double  reef  the  foretopsail.  It  was  about  half  an  hour 
after  eight  bells,  in  the  first  watch  at  night — the  watch 
below  had  turned  in,  but  were  not  as  yet  sleeping  — 
when,  directly  after  the  watch  had  manned  the  fore- 


FALL  FROM  THE  FORETOPSAIL  YARD.       63 

topsail  yard,  the  men  in  the  forecastle  were  startled 
by  the  fall  of  a  heavy  body  on  deck,  directly  over 
their  heads.  A  rush  was  made  for  the  ladder,  and  on 
getting  on  deck,  a  youngster,  who  belonged  to  IS'ew 
Bedford,  was  found  prostrate,  without  sense  or 
motion.  By  the  orders  of  the  first  officer,  who 
thought  him  dead,  he  was  immediately  carried  into 
the  cabin.  The  watch  on  the  yard  were  instructed 
to  lay  down  from  aloft.  On  carrying  the  sufierer 
into  the  cabin,  it  was  found  that  his  heart  beat; 
he  was  bled,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  he 
regained  consciousness,  and  continued  gradually  to 
mend,  until,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  weeks,  he 
was  perfectly  recovered,  without,  apparently,  any 
serious  efiect  from  his  fall,  except  the  increase  of  an 
already  craving  appetite,  and  corresponding  augmen- 
tation in  length  and  breadth  of  person.  His  fall  may 
be  attributed  to  a  superabundance  of  heavy  clothing, 
beside  a  coarse,  heavy  pair  of  boots,  united  making 
him  clumsy  and  unwieldy  aloft.  Although,  from  his 
account,  it  would  appear  that,  at  the  time  of  the 
accident,  he  was  very  nearly,  or  quite,  asleep,  as  he 
retained  no  remembrance  of  their  having  occasion 
to  reef  the  topsail,  and  no  recollection  of  having 
been  on  the  yard,  or  any  other  circumstance  con- 
nected with  his  fall,  the  only  reason  that  we  can 
assign  for  the  slight  injuries  he  sustained,  is  the  sup- 
position that  in  his  descent  his  fall  was  broken  by 
his  striking  against  the  foretop,  the  mainstay,  and  a 
barricade  of  spars  that  were  lashed  forward.  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  he  required  some 
easing  down,  when  I  state  that  he  fell  from  the 
weather  yard-arm,  close  by  the  bunt,  at  least  forty- 


64  A  PORTUGUESE  OVERBOARD. 

jBve  feet  from  deck.  A  few  weeks  after  this  we  had 
another  specimen  of  lofty  tumbling  whilst  we  were 
gammoning  with  the  barque  Pioneer,  of  N^ew  Bed- 
ford. The  watch  had  gone  aloft  to  furl  the  foretop- 
sail,  and  had  so  far  progressed  as  to  be  ready  to  pass 
the  yard-arm  gaskets.  Jose,  a  Portuguese,  was  at 
the  end  of  the  starboard  yard-arm  coiling  the  outside 
gasket,  preparatory  to  encircling  the  sail  with  it,  when 
his  feet  slipped  from  the  horse ;  keeping  firm  hold  of 
the  gasket,  which  reached  about  half  way  to  the 
water,  he  slid  to  its  extreme  end.  The  weather  was 
light,  and  the  ship  pretty  steady,  lie  remained  sus- 
pended for  a  moment,  when,  watching  for  the  weather 
roll,  he  let  go,  descended  into  the  water,  rose,  and 
struck  out  like  a  good  fellow.  The  second  mate  ran 
on  to  the  house,  caught  up  a  boat's  fall,  made  a  bow- 
ling in  the  end  of  it,  and  hove  it  to  him ;  he  slipped 
it  over  his  head  and  under  his  arms,  and  was  soon 
hauled  aboard,  without  other  damage  than  a  good 
wetting,  of  which  he  made  very  little  account. 

Having  recorded  several  instances  of  a  serious 
character,  I  shall  take  occasion  to  speak  of  the 
numerous  practical  jokes  that  are  enacted  aboard 
ship.  The  monotony  of  the  life .  at  sea  renders  a 
hearty  laugh  somewhat  of  a  relief,  and  assists  in 
passing  away  the  time ;  and  this  end  is  desirable  on 
the  whaling-ground  on  account  of  the  many  hours 
of  inactivity.  At  night,  in  the  vicinity  of  a  place 
of  known  resort  for  the  fish,  sail  is  shortened,  and 
all  hands,  except  one  boat's  crew  and  its  boatsteerer, 
go  below ;  the  officers  remaining  all  day  on  deck,  and 
standing  no  watch  at  night.  In  a  four-boat  ship,  the 
night  is  divided  into  four  watches.    The  night  watch, 


PRACTICAL   JOKES.  65 

therefore,  is  so  sliort  as  to  be  anything  but  onerous ; 
hence   the   early  part   of  the   night   is   devoted  to 
singing,  yarning,  &c.     But  I  set  out  with  the  inten- 
tion of  telling  a  joke,  and  as  I  have  digressed  a  little 
I  hope  the  reader  will  pardon  me.    One  fine  Sunday 
morning  Kedge  Anchor  expressed  a  desire  to  have 
his  hair  cut.    Here  was  an  opening — and  a  conspiracy 
was  immediately  formed  against  his  cranial  adorn- 
ment.    One  went  to  work  and  cut  his  hair.     When 
finished,  a  dozen  voices  exclaimed  against  the  bar- 
barian who  had  put  so  outre  a  cut  on  his  poor  head ; 
others  recommended  a  little  more  o&  behind.     The 
victim  acquiesced,  and  submitted  to  the  operation. 
A  second,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth,  lent  their  aid  in 
denuding  his  skull,  and  by  the  time  the  last  had 
finished  he  was  a  picture  for  a  painter.     The  poor 
fellow  had  not  a  hair  on  his  head  more  than  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  length,  and,  as  his  forehead  was  receding, 
his  appearance  can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 
Sufiice  it  to  say,  that  for  weeks  after  the  shearing  his 
appearance  was  greeted  with  hearty  laughter ;  and,  as 
with  him  laughter  was  contagious,  he  always  joined 
in  the  shout.     For  a  long  time  he  did  not  discover 
that  he  was  the  butt,  but  when  he  did  discover  his 
loss  he  was  rather  pleased  than   otherwise   at  the 
singularity  of  his  appearance.     This  is  but  one  of 
the  many  tricks  of  this  kind  that  I  have  witnessed. 
I  remember  seeing  a  green  hand  sent  to  tell  the 
steward  to  overhaul  the  captain's  chronometer  box 
for  a  swab  to  clean  up  the  forecastle.     Another  sent 
to  the  masthead  to  ask  the  man  stationed  there  the 
time  of  day,  or  to  see  if  the  sun  had  risen.    Another 
to  the  oflicer  of  the  deck  to  advise  him  to  secure  the 
6*  E 


66  PRACTICAL  JOKES. 

barometer,  or  to  tell  him  that  the  masts  were  work- 
ing. And  I  remember  one  poor  fellow,  who  prided 
himself  much  on  his  agility,  giving  us  a  specimen 
of  the  movements  of  the  kangaroo,  sweating  and 
exerting  himself  for  a  whole  afternoon,  delighting 
us,  as  he  supposed,  with  his  farcical  antics,  until  he  dis- 
covered on  his  back  a  large  paper  figure  in  imitation 
of  himself.  He  said  not  a  word  at  the  time,  and  sat 
down  totally  abashed ;  but  ere  long  a  paper  Punch 
figured  on  the  back  of  the  supposed  instigator. 


ISLAND    OF   AMSTERDAM.  67 


CHAPTER  III. 

Finding  but  little  could  be  done  amongst  the 
whales  on  this  ground,  early  in  December  we  resumed 
sea  watches,  and  steered  a  course  for  the  coast  of 
!N'ew  Holland,  intending  to  cruise  off  its  south- 
westernmost  point  for  sperm  whales.  On  the  fifth 
of  the  same  month,  whilst  pursuing  our  course  to 
the  eastward,  we  sighted  the  Island  of  Amsterdam,  in 
40°  South  latitude,  77°  East  longitude.  At  daylight 
the  ensuing  morning,  we  lowered  away  three  boats, 
each  member  of  their  respective  crews  provided  with 
fishing-tackle,  for  the  capture  of  much  smaller  mem- 
bers of  the  finny  tribe  than  our  usual  game.  Before 
arriving  at  the  island,  we  saw,  and  gave  chase  to  an 
otter,  but  he  eluded  our  pursuit.  This  was  the  first 
animal  of  the  kind  I  had  ever  seen ;  it  absorbed  ray 
attention,  whilst  in  sight,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
novelties.  His  face,  in  expression,  reminded  me  of 
that  of  a  pug  dog,  in  which  opinion  all  my  com- 
panions united.  I  al^o  saw  here  the  first  of  those 
peculiarities,  viz.  penguins,  or  waugans,  as  they  are 
called  by  seamen  —  their  hoarse  cry  and  long  im- 
mersion in  water  excited  my  wonder  and  attention. 
Here  also  were  the  osprey,  sea  hen,  albatross,  moni- 
moke,  right  and  sperm  whale  birds,  and  numerous 
minor  specimens  of  the  family,  flying  in  and  out  of 
their  eyries  in  the  cliff,  carrying  food  to  their  young, 
and  occasionally  disputing  for  the  possession  of  the 


68  ANGLING. 

finny  prey,  which  they  capture  with  much  dexterity. 
Sometimes  they  wheeled  in  circles  around  our  boat, 
apparently  viewing  us  as  intruders  on  their  domain. 

On  approaching  the  island,  we  found  it  a  rock- 
bound  precipice,  almost  inaccessible,  with  a  scanty 
vegetation  dispersed  over  its  summit.  It  has  a  deso- 
late appearance,  is  uninhabited,  and  only  visited  by 
whalemen  and  those  unfortunates  whom  E'eptune,  in 
his  furious  mood,  casts  upon  its  desolate  shore. 
On  the  cliffs  a  few  goats  were  to  be  seen,  set  ashore 
some  time  since  by  the  humane  captain  of  a  whaler, 
who  opined  that  they  would  increase,  and  afford 
sustenance  to  any  shipwrecked  mariners  who  might 
be  cast  away  here. 

We  went  close  to  the  rocks,  over  which  huge 
breakers  gambolled,  and  made  our  boats  fast  to  the 
kelp.  Then  out  lines,  and  on  the  instant  were  busily 
engaged  in  hauling  in  noble  fish,  varying  in  weight 
from  five  to  twenty  pounds,  of  all  varieties  and 
colors :  cod,  trumpeter,  and  many  species  unknown 
to  us,  white,  black,  blue,  yellow,  and  red.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  hours  we  had  secured  as  many  as 
we  wanted ;  the  other  boats  experiencing  like  suc- 
cess, the  fish  biting  with  the  greatest  avidity ;  it  only 
being  necessary  to  bait,  heave  the  line  overboard,  and 
haul  up,  and,  ten  chances  to  one,  before  it  reached 
the  surface,  a  fish  was  attached  to  it.  On  an  emi- 
nence on  the  island,  a  royal  mast  is  erected,  it  having 
been  the  signal  pole  of  the  crew  of  the  whale-ship 
Tuscany,  of  Sag  Harbor,  which  went  ashore  on  this 
island. 

It  appears  that  the  English  ship  Meridian,  returning 
from  Australia,  was  cast  away  here.     The  principal 


A  SHIPWRECK  —  HIDDEX  TREASURE.       69 

part  of  the  passengers  and  crew  reached  the  island,  and 
scaled  the  cliff;  here  they  remained  for  several  days, 
existing  on  a  wild  cabbage  that  is  indigenous  to  the 
island.  They  were  much  depressed,  until  one  morn- 
ing they  descried  a  ship  beating  up  for  the  island. 
She  proved  to  be  the  whaling  barque  Monmouth,  of 
Cold  Springs;  her  captain,  all  honor  to  him,  and  no 
less  to  his  faithful  messenger,  sent  one  of  his  crew 
across  the  island  to  communicate  with  the  distressed 
ones.  He  directed  them  to  cross  the  island,  as  at  the 
side  they  then  were  it  would  be  impossible  to  land 
a  boat.  This,  although  comparatively  a  short  dis- 
tance, they  were  all  one  day  and  part  of  the  next 
accomplishing  —  the  rugged,  steep  way,  their  en- 
feebled condition,  and  the  presence  of  ladies  and 
children,  delaying  them.  The  Monmouth's  boats, 
as  soon  as  possible,  convej-ed  them  aboard  their  vessel, 
where  they  received  every  attention  their  condition 
required,  and  were  conveyed  to  the  Mauritius,  where 
they  were  disembarked,  i^ow  for  the  romantic  part 
of  the  story.  It  appears  that  in  the  general  confusion, 
several  bags  of  English  sovereigns,  that  were  carried 
from  the  WTCcked  ship  ashore,  were  deposited,  as  it 
was  supposed,  in  a  secure  place,  and  left  on  the  island. 
This  was  communicated  to  the  captain  of  the  Tus- 
cany, and,  as  the  report  goes,  he  had  run  close  in 
with  his  ship,  landed,  and  found  the  money ;  but  at 
the  moment  of  his  grasping  it,  he  discovered  his  ship 
in  a  perilous  position.  The  second  officer,  who  was 
left  in  charge,  from  incapacity  or  ignorance,  had  run 
her  ashore.  Circumstances  occurred,  during  his  stay 
on  the  island,  that  rendered  it  impossible  to  bring 
away  the  gold,    the   existence   of  which,  whether 


70  THE   ISLAND   OF   ST.  PAUL's. 

chimerical  or  otherwise,  is  still  a  favorite  theme 
amongst  the  whalemen  who  frequent  this  latitude ; 
and  in  January,  1856,  a  whale-ship  that  then  lay  at 
the  Vasse,  had  engaged  one  of  the  Tuscany's  former 
crew,  and  anticipated  having  a  search  for  it. 

Our  second  mate  w^ent  ashore,  near  the  spot 
where  the  Tuscany  w^as  stranded,  captured  a  right 
whale  bird,  and  procured  a  number  of  eggs.  On 
examining  the  bird,  we  found  that  the  substance 
composing  its  jaws  exactly  resembled  right  whale- 
bone, and  its  tongue  w^as  precisely  similar  in  shape 
to  that  of  the  right  w^hale.  These  peculiarities  I  had 
often  heard  attributed  to  the  bird,  but  considered 
them  fabulous,  as  did  most  of  our  ship's  company; 
although  many  of  them  had  been  engaged  in  whaling 
for  years,  but  never  previously  had  an  opportunity 
of  making  an  examination.  Having  procured  as 
many  fish  as  w^e  could  take  care  of  for  the  nonce,  at 
eleven  o'clock  we  returned  to  the  barque  and  com- 
menced cleaning  and  salting  them.  In  the  afternoon 
we  sent  another  boat  in,  and  w^hen  all  were  taken 
care  of  we  found  that  we  had  seven  barrels,  and 
visions  of  good  fare  rose  before  us ;  but  alas,  for  the 
uncertainty  of  human  expectations  —  three  months 
afterward  the  whole  of  them  spoiled,  and  we  w^ere 
forced  to  consign  them  to  Davy  Jones'  locker. 

The  next  morning  after  our  fishing  excursion  we 
saw  right  whales  and  the  Island  of  St.  Paul's.  The 
whales  we  lowered  away  for  and  chased,  without 
success.  The  Island  of  St.  Paul's  lies  in  the  same 
longitude  as  Amsterdam,  but  is  a  degree  farther 
north.  Like  Amsterdam,  it  is  barren,  but  is  occu- 
pied by  a  French  company,  whose  agents  reside  here 


CHRISTMAS   DAY.  71 

for  the  pui^ose  of  fishing.  They  cure  their  catchings, 
and  at  periodical  seasons  a  vessel  visits  them,  bring- 
ing them  supplies  and  carrying  away  their  accumula- 
tions of  fish.  From  the  quantity  and  quality  of  their 
prey  in  the  vicinity,  I  should  think  the  business  must 
be  lucrative,  and,  indeed,  it  ought  to  be,  to  compen- 
sate for  the  isolation  men  must  feel  in  this  out  of  the 
way  spot.  This  island  being  only  sixty  miles  distant 
from  Amsterdam,  is  easily  distinguished  on  a  clear 
day. 

Nothing  occurred  from  this  time  until  Christmas 
day,  when,  of  course,  we  who  were  brought  up  to 
the  southward  of  the  ^ew  England  States,  expected 
some  observance  of  the  time-honored  customs  of  the 
day ;  but  what  was  our  surprise  to  see  the  work 
going  on  as  usual ;  no  difierence  being  made,  except 
breaking  out  a  cheese,  and  distributing  it  amongst 
the  crew^,  fore  and  aft.  This  humble  fare,  being  so 
long  deprived  of,  we  hailed  with  acclamation,  and 
partook  of  with  avidity.  This  method  of  observing 
Chtistmas  was  persisted  in  during  the  voyage ;  on 
one,  however,  nothing  either  in  the  fare,  or  relaxa- 
tion of  discipline,  served  to  mark  the  anniversary; 
on  another  we  were  agreeably  surprised  by  the 
steward's  making  mince  pies  for  the  whole  ship's 
company.  'New  England  men  pay  very  little  heed 
to  the  coming  of  Christmas  day,  they  having  been 
accustomed  from  childhood  to  regard  Thanksgiving 
as  a  much  more  important  holiday;  and  as  they 
cannot  tell  at  sea  when  Thanksgiving  day  comes,  the 
only  holiday  left  is  the  Fourth  of  July ;  and  two 
out  of  the  three  recurrences  of  this  glorious  day, 
whilst  I  was  aboard  the  ship,  were  unmarked  by 


72  SPERM    WHALES. 

a  single  circumstance  to  note  it;  I  well  remember 
the  mate's  answer  to  one  of  the  crew,  who  in  reply 
to  his  order  to  get  up  the  spun  yarn  machine,  laugh- 
ingly said  that  it  was  Fourth  of  July.  The  curt 
answer  was,  "  Yes !  it  is  Fourth  of  July  at  home, 
but  not  here."  In  the  evening,  after  the  quarter 
watch  was  set,  the  accordeon,  drum,  fife,  tamborine, 
fiddle,  and  triangle,  were  pressed  into  service,  and 
all  the  national  airs  performed  thereon  with  great  glee. 
The  ]^ew  Year  found  us  on  the  coast  of  ITew  Hol- 
land in  sight  of  Cape  Leuwin.  This  portion  of 
Australia  presents  rather  an  indifierent  appearance, 
viewed  from  the  ocean  ;  it  being  barren,  apparently, 
over  a  great  part  of  its  extent,  and  where  vegetation 
does  appear,  it  is  low  and  scanty.  Off  this  cape  is  a 
great  resort  for  sperm  whales,  and  at  almost  all 
seasons  of  the  year  American  whalers  are  to  be  seen, 
standing  off  and  on,  patiently  awaiting  the  appear- 
ance of  the  cachalot.  At  the  time  that  we  reached 
this  ground,  the  ships  were  just  resorting  here 
from  the  coast  of  Africa  and  Island  of  Madag-ascar, 
we  spoke  and  gammoned  a  number,  varying  from 
eight  to  thirty  months  from  home,  and  having  from 
one  hundred  to  two  thousand  barrels  of  oil  aboard. 
On  the  fifth,  a  gale  of  wind  having  but  just  abated, 
leaving  a  heavy  swell  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean, 
we  saw  sperm  whales.  We  lowered  for  them  at  7J 
o'clock  A.  M. ;  at  8  the  starboard  boat  fastened  to  a 
large  one,  and  a  moment  afterward  we  followed  with 
the  waist  boat.  The  larboard  boat,  in  trying  to  imi- 
tate us,  was  struck  by  the  whale's  flukes  and  stove. 
She  filled,  and  her  crew  were  obliged  to  swim  for  their 
lives  to  the  bow  boat,  in  which  they  were  conveyed 


FASTENED   TO   A  WHALE.  Tfr 

to  the  ship.  They  had  managed  to  get  one  iron  into 
the  whale  before  being  stoven ;  but  the  boatsteerer, 
undaunted,  when  up  to  his  waist  in  water,  darted  his 
second  iron  at  the  animated  target,  striking  his  mark, 
but  not  w^ith  sufficient  force  to  fasten  solid.  Their 
line  entwining  around  ours,  prevented  us  hauling  on 
to  and  despatching  him  ;  and  whilst  w^e  were  dallying, 
away  he  went  to  windward,  towing  us  faster  than  a 
steamboat,  the  water  breaking  completely  over  us. 
Our  boat  was  one-third  full  all  the  time,  and  it  was 
only  by  unremitting  bailing,  by  two  of  our  number, 
that  w^e  kept  her  afloat.  This  continued  for  hours, 
until  the  ship  was  only  seen  as  a  speck  in  the  horizon. 
The  whales  were  darting  here,  there,  and  everywhere 
—  ahead,  astern,  and  under  us — and  the  officer  only 
prevented  their  getting  afoul  of  us  by  repeated 
lancings ;  whilst  our  boats  were  tossed  to  and  fro.  The 
boatsteerer  of  the  starboard  boat  was  pitched  out,  but 
he  caught  the  gunwale  and  soon  recovered  his  position. 
Immediately  after  the  line  ran  foul,  our  boat  capsized 
and  was  taken  down.  I  jumped,  as  soon  as  I  found 
that  she  was  going  over,  kicked  off  my  shoes,  and 
swam  for  the  other  boat,  the  line  of  w^hich  had  been  cut 
as  soon  as  they  discovered  our  mishap.  On  getting 
into  the  boat,  I  found  that  three  others  were  all  right, 
and  directly  our  second  mate  made  his  appearance 
and  w^as  assisted  in.  He  stated  that  the  line  had  be- 
come twisted  around  his  ankle,  but,  fortunately,  he  had 
the  sheath-knife  in  his  hand  when  he  went  dow^n, 
and  cut  himself  loose.  The  tub  oarsman  got  in  with 
his  hand  seriously  cut,  evidently  by  a  lance  which  he 
must  have  come  in  contact  with  under  water.  As 
soon  as  we  counted  those  in  the  boat,  the  amid- 
7 


7*'  ASSISTANCE   FROM   THE   SHIP. 

sliip  oarsman  was  found  to  be  missing,  and  as  we 
knew  that  he  could  not  swim,  we  were  apprehen- 
sive that  he  was  drowned ;  but  on  the  instant  his 
head  made  its  appearance,  and  I  shoved  him  an  oar, 
with  which  he  supported  himself  until  picked  up. 
After  finding  all  safe,  we  laughed  at  the  accident, 
and  looking  around  for  the  whale,  discovered  him 
apparently  taking  a  view  of  us — his  profuse  bleeding 
rendering  it  impossible  for  him  to  sound.  On  our 
approach  he  gradually  receded  from  us  stern  fore- 
most. We  were  twelve  in  a  boat,  almost  out  of  sight 
of  the  ship,  and  had  anything  happened  to  our  boat 
at  this  stage  of  the  operation,  some,  if  not  all  of  us, 
would  have  lost  the  numbers  of  our  mess;  but 
Providence  protected  us,  and  we  came  ofl'  harmless. 
On  going  on  to  the  whale  to  lance  him,  the  monster 
would  roll  on  his  side,  display  his  enormous  jaw, 
and  attempt  to  seize  the  boat  with  it.  This  was 
repeated  a  number  of  times,  when  those  in  the  ship, 
which  had  been  gradually  n earing  us,  discovering 
only  one  boat,  and  that  full  of  men,  they  lowered 
away  two  boats.  One  went  in  pursuit  of  the  capsized 
boat,  while  the  other  came  to  our  assistance,  and 
fastened  to  the  whale,  discharging  three-bomb  lances 
into  him.  These  caused  him  to  roll  and  groan,  but  not 
producing  a  fatal  eftect,  our  boat  returned  to  the  ship 
for  more,  which  were  likewise  deposited  in  his  carcass ; 
but  it  was  not  until  sundown  that  he  rolled  fin  out, 
and  was  brought  alongside.  We  secured  him  for  the 
night,  and  the  next  morning  proceeded  to  cut  him 
in.  This  is  a  ver}^  difiTerent  operation  from  cutting- 
iu  a  right  whale;  the  two  species  being  totally 
dissimilar.     The  first  move  with  the  sperm  whale  is 


CUTTING    IN   A   SPERM   WHALE.  7x> 

to  separate  the  head  from  the  body,  and  when  the 
jaw  is  loose,  heave  it  in.  Cutting  off  the  head 
consumes,  if  a  large  whale  is  the  subject,  from  two 
to  four  hours,  according  to  the  dexterity  of  the 
manipulator ;  if  a  proficient  handles  the  spade,  it  is 
a  work  of  but  little  trouble,  but  if  a  bungler,  he 
wearies  everybody's  patience  out  beside  his  own. 
The  head,  when  completely  clear,  is  made  fast  to  the 
ship's  quarter  by  a  strong  chain,  and  the  body  then 
hove  in.  "When  the  small  is  cleared  away,  the 
head  is  hooked  on  to  and  hove  out  of  the  water, 
then  separated  into  two  portions,  known  as  the  case 
and  junk,  and  separately  hove  in.  If  the  whale  is 
very  large  the  case  is  bailed  overboard,  so  as  not  to 
endanger  the  ship's  spars  by  so  heavy  a  heave  —  in 
this  case  we  hove  it  in.  Whilst  heaving  in  our  last 
body  piece,  to  which  the  flukes  were  attached,  they 
swung  around  and  knocked  the  second  mate  and  a 
boatsteerer  overboard,  with  spades  in  their  hands. 
They  soon  were  recovered  and  on  deck  safe  again. 

We  now  had  him  all  aboard.  The  jaw  was  dragged 
forward  and  secured,  and  several  employed  in  cutting 
the  blubber  from  the  pans ;  it  measured  twenty  feet 
in  length  and  had  in  it  forty-eight  ivory  teeth,  many 
of  them  weighing  a  pound  or  more.  The  case  was 
then  opened,  and  a  boatsteerer  jumped  into  and  pre- 
pared to  dip  out  the  unctuous  matter,  which  in  this 
part  of  the  head  is  fluid  ;  for  what  purpose  designed 
I  know  not,  but  no  doubt  it  is  a  provision  of  Provi- 
dence that  has  its  uses,  although  we  cannot  discern 
them.  From  this  vast  receptacle  for  oil  we  bailed 
some  twelve  barrels  of  the  pure  spermaceti.  The 
junk  was  then  cut  into  horse  pieces,  and  these,  with 


T6  BOUND   FOR   PORT. 

the  other  blubber  from  arouDd  the  head  and  jaw, 
were  rendered  out  and  stowed  in  casks  marked 
"head;"  it  being  by  far  the  most  valuable  portion 
of  the  whale,  and  commanding  a  better  price.  The 
head  of  the  sperm  whale  generally  yields  about  two- 
fifths  of  the  oil  procured  from  the  entire  fish.  After 
finishing  ^vith  the  head  matter,  we  proceeded  with 
the  residue  the  same  as  with  the  right  whale  formerly 
mentioned.  On  boiling  the  body  blubber,  we  found 
it  exceedingly  poor,  and  were  not  at  all  surprised  at 
the  whole  yield  being  only  seventy-two  barrels — his 
size  auguring  at  least  a  hundred.  He  was  seventy- 
five  feet  long. 

In  appearance,  this  whale  does  not  bear  the 
slightest  resemblance  to  the  right  whale — its  massive 
head  differing  from  the  latter;  neither  has  it  the 
bonnet,  as  the  right  whale,  infested  by  barnacles  and 
vermin ;  its  body  is  not  so  thick ;  it  is  longer,  and 
on  the  back,  near  the  small,  a  ridge  rises  which  is 
known  as  the  hump;  the  flukes,  too,  are  smaller; 
and  the  skin,  instead  of  being  black  as  ebony,  is  of 
a  slate  color,  frequently  mottled  with  white — around 
the  head  presenting  an  appearance  like  marbling; 
beneath  the  skin,  on  the  head,  is  found  short,  stiff', 
hair,  and  between  the  hair  and  skin  an  alkaline  sub- 
stance which  is  a  solvent  for  oil  —  it  is  used  for 
washing  clothing  and  the  paint  work. 

After  our  whale  was  stowed  below  and  finished 
with,  we  remained  off  the  Leuw^in  for  a  few  weeks, 
seeing  whales  but  once,  and  then  just  at  nightfall. 
So  the  captain  said,  one  fine  morning,  that  he  thought 
he  had  waited  long  enough  for  the  whales,  and  that 
now  they  might  wait  for  him.    He  ordered  the  helm 


TAKING   IN   WATER.  77 

hard  up,  and  yve  went  bowling  away  before  a  ten 
knot  breeze  toward  Vasse  —  a  settlement  situated  in 
Geographe  Bay,  a  short  distance  to  the  northward  of 
Cape  Leuwin.  Soon  we  could  see  the  breakers  dash- 
ing and  surging  over  the  inhospitable  coast,  and  at 
7  o'clock  P.  M.  let  go  our  port  anchor  in  three  and 
a  half  fathoms  of  water,  about  three  miles  distant 
from  the  shore.  "VVe  found  several  other  whalers  at 
anchor,  and  two  more  came  in  the  same  evening.  From 
the  ship  the  country  looked  low,  sandy,  and  bushy. 
The  next  day  we  went  ashore  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  fresh  water,  and  found  that  we  had  an 
onerous  task;  as  the  casks  were  towed  ashore  and 
rolled  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  wells,  over  a 
sand}^,  uneven  road,  into  which  the  pedestrian  sank 
knee  deep  at  ever}'  step.  On  arriving  at  the  wells, 
the  water  had  to  be  dipped  up  by  bucketsful  from 
a  depth  of  twelve  feet;  nor  was  the  water  very 
good,  it  being  produced  from  the  sea  by  filtration 
through  the  sand,  which  deprived  it  of  its  saline 
matter.  On  filling  our  casks,  finding  it  impossible 
to  roll  them  through  the  sand,  we  took  our  raft 
rope  and  laid  it  in  a  continuous  line,  rolled  a  cask 
upon  it,  brought  the  end  of  the  rope  over  it,  and 
thus,  all  hands  taking  hold,  we  succeeded  in  par- 
buckling them,  one  by  one,  to  the  beach.  I  had 
often  heard  it  sung  that  Jordan  was  a  hard  road  to 
travel,  and  whilst  engaged  in  this  occupation,  beneath 
a  burning  sun  and  over  the  scorching  sand,  I  thought 
that  it  would  not  have  been  inappropriate  to  substi- 
tute Geographe  for  Jordan  ;  as  a  harder  road  to  travel 
I  defy  any  one  to  point  out.  Thus  we  toiled,  day 
after  day,  until  we  had  four  hundred  barrels  of  water 
7* 


78  JACK   ASHORE. 

in  our  ship's  hold,  when  liberty  commenced.  This 
is  always  a  season  of  rejoicing  amongst  sailors,  hut 
it  would  be  impossible  to  give  a  perfect  description 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  enjoy  themselves,  and 
the  mad  pranks  they  cut  whilst  their  liberty  lasts. 
Imagine,  if  you  can,  a  school  of  the  most  mischievous 
urchins  let  loose,  with  perfect  freedom  to  enact  all 
the  mischief  they  are  capable  of,  and  you  can  form  a 
faint  idea  of  Jack  ashore  in  a  foreign  port.  Some 
have  hired  horses  and  are  riding  double,  one  facing 
forward,  the  other  in  the  opposite  direction,  kicking, 
spurring,  and  urging  the  nag  onw^ard,  occasionally 
getting  a  fall  which  is  productive  of  nothing  but  a 
hearty  laugh,  the  loose  sand  protecting  the  dismounted 
cavalier  from  injury ;  and  ten  chances  to  one,  after 
recovering  his  feet,  the  unseated  one  would  grasp  the 
animal's  tail  to  mount  again.  I  remember  a  case  of 
one  of  our  crew,  who,  burning  to  distinguish  himself, 
went  ashore,  hired  a  horse,  and  rode  off  into  the  bush 
at  full  speed.  The  beast,  being  better  accustomed  to 
bush  ranging  than  his  rider,  in  the  course  of  an  hour 
made  his  appearance  alone;  and,  on  search  being  in- 
stituted, the  gay  horseman  was  discovered  hanging  in 
the  forked  branch  of  a  tree,  in  such  a  position  that  he 
could  not  extricate  himself  without  assistance,  and 
even  then  his  garments  were  rather  the  worse  for  Wear. 
The  oldsters,  when  ashore,  of  course,  resorted  to 
the  grog  shop  and  got  merry;  the  younger  ones, 
burning  to  emulate  them,  were  soon  half  seas  over, 
and  rolling  around  in  too  heavy  a  style  even  for  a 
sailor.  The  first  day,  however,  settled  the  affair,  as 
on  the  following  one  the  j^oungsters  discovered  that 
the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard ;  for  they  had  to 


VASSE.  T9 

pay  the  penalty  of  a  disordered  stomach  and  severe 
headache.  On  the  next  liberty-day  Bacchus  had  but 
few  votaries. 

I  will  now  endeavor  to  give  a  slight  description  of 
the  town  of  Vasse.  The  town  and  bay  take  their 
name  from  a  French  vessel  and  her  master — the  town 
from  the  captain,  and  the  bay  from  the  vessel.  She 
was  cast  away  here  years  ago,  and  remnants  of  her 
timbers  are  still  to  be  seen.  After  half  a  mile's 
wading  through  the  sand,  we  came  to  the  outskirts 
of  the  town ;  the  first  house  was  a  grog-shop,  the 
second  a  smitherj^,  the  third  a  grog-shop,  and,  half  a 
mile  farther  on,  another  groggery ;  so  that  it  was 
easily  to  be  seen  that  the  Maine  Law  had  not  yet 
gone  into  operation  in  this  vicinity.  Three  grog- 
shops, in  a  village  of  about  one  hundred  inhabitants, 
are  rather  more  than  one  would  suppose  were 
needed  ;  but  all  seemed  to  be  doing  a  thriving  busi- 
ness, everybody,  men,  women,  and  children,  indis- 
criminately going  to  the  bars  and  drinking  miserable 
spirits,  for  which  they  pay  six-pence  sterling,  equiva- 
lent to  twelve  cents  of  our  money,  per  glass.  Then 
again,  within  a  compass  of  a  few  miles,  numerous 
sawyers  are  employed,  who,  after  laboring  hard  for 
two,  three,  or  six  months,  and  accumulating  a  sum 
of  money,  resort  to  the  village,  and,  to  use  their  own 
expression,  proceed  to  knock  their  earnings  down. 
This  they  soon  effect,  and  return  to  their  old  employ- 
ment, when  forced  to,  for  w^ant  of  funds  to  continue 
their  carousal.  The  ticket  of  leave  men,  too,  who 
are  mostly  employed  in  this  section  by  the  govern- 
ment, in  repairing  roads  and  public  works  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year,  are  allowed  a  short  time  for 


80  DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   INHABITANTS. 

recreation ;  and  recreation  to  this  people  is  only 
known  in  intoxication,  and  hence  they  too  are 
amongst  the  publican's  best  customers. 

The  aborigines  are  a  slender  made  people,  with 
faces   and   bodies   as   dark   as   a  negro's,  but  with 
straight  hair.    Their  features,  to  me,  are  unpleasing, 
and  they  heighten  the  disgusting  expression  by  be- 
smearing the  cheeks,  forehead,  and  the  fore  part  of 
the  hair  with  a  reddish   clay,  resembling   Spanish 
brown,  mixed  with  oiL     They  are  very  filthy,  being 
alive  with  vermin.     Their  only  clothing  consists  of 
a  kangaroo  skin,  with   the   hairy  side   turned   in, 
thrown  over  the  shoulder;  this  they  call  a  bouka. 
The  paint  they  put  on  their  faces  they  call  willagee. 
Their  weapons   consist   of  a  hard  piece   of  wood, 
shaped  like  a  half  moon,  called  a  boomerang,  which 
they  send  whizzing  through   the  air,  striking   any 
object   they  aim   at   with   the   most   unerring  pre- 
cision.    The   spear,  too,  they  dart  with   exceeding 
accuracy  from  a  diamond-shaped  piece  of  wood  which 
they  call  a  womara;  they  also  dart  it  fi'om  the  hand. 
One  morning  I  had  half  a  dozen  children  darting  for 
small  pieces  of  tobacco,  which  they  invariably  struck. 
They  have  a  passion,  like  all  uncivilized  nations,  for 
rum  and  tobacco.     The  former  they  are   debarred 
from  using,  from  the  fact  that  the  government  inflicts 
heavy  penalties  on  any  person  who  supplies  them 
with   the   smallest  quantity  of  alcoholic  stimulant. 
Our  fellows,  in  several  cases,  got  a  bottle  and  carried 
it  into  the  bush,  and  gave  them  small  quantities  for 
the  fun  of  seeing  and  hearing  them  dance  and  sing; 
and,  indeed,  a  very  small  portion  of  spirits  causes 


SHAM   BATTLE.  81 

them  to  act  more  like  demons  than  members  of  the 
human  family. 

One  afternoon  I  witnessed  a  sham  battle  between 
about  a  score  of  them,  equally  divided.  Twigs  were 
substituted  for  their  spears ;  the  latter  being  pointed, 
and  armed  with  glass  attached  by  means  of  a  red 
gum,  are  rather  dangerous  weapons  to  play  wnth. 
They  charged  each  other,  rallying  and  retreating, 
and,  when  opportunities  presented,  darting  their 
w^eapons,  all  the  time  making  a  hoarse  guttural 
sound,  and  becoming  much  excited.  The  sport  con- 
tinued for  some  time,  and,  after  they  had  finished, 
tobacco  was  given  to  them.  One  of  them  demurring 
at  the  quantity  in  rather  an  outrageous  style,  was 
cooly  knocked  head  over  heels,  and  this  arousing  a 
combatant  spirit  amongst  our  crew,  the  whole  of  the 
natives,  in  a  few  moments,  were  flying  as  if  for  dear 
life  from  the  vicinity.  From  observation  on  different 
occasions,  I  should  say  that  the  men  are  possessed 
of  no  courage ;  the  women  fight  brutal  battles  with 
each  other,  armed  with  sticks,  and  never  succumb 
until  powerless  from  exertion  or  injury.  But  few,  if 
any,  of  the  females  whom  I  have  seen,  were  not 
covered  with  welts,  thicker  than  one's  finger,  on  the 
back  and  breast,  the  result,  no  doubt,  in  many  in- 
stances, of  these  encounters :  but  they  have  a  custom, 
I  am  told,  of  abrading  their  flesh  on  the  death  of  a 
relative,  and  to  this  cause  is  assigned  most  of  the 
scars  they  are  covered  with.  They,  like  the  men, 
are  dressed  with  the  bouka  or  kangaroo  skin,  and 
are  squalid,  dirty,  lewd,  and  ignorant.  Anything,  a 
chew  of  tobacco,  or  a  mouthful  of  biscuit,  will  cause 


82  POOD  —  women's  burdens. 

these  libels  on  the  name  of  women  to  forget  the 
allegiance  due  to  their  lords. 

In  the  summer  these  people  sleep  in  the  open  air, 
making,  towards  sundown,  a  fire  in  the  bush,  and 
sleeping  with  their  feet  to  the  fire.  In  winter  they 
build  rude  huts  of  twigs  and  reeds,  about  four  feet 
high,  and  large  enough  for  two  or  three  individuals, 
and  here  they,  having  in  their  hunting  season  col- 
lected provisions  enough  to  subsist  on,  huddle  to- 
gether and  sleep  away  the  rainy  season,  which  usually 
lasts  about  1a.Ye  months.  Their  food  comprises  almost 
everything  that  is  endowed  with  life  —  kangaroos, 
snakes,  iguanas,  and  grubs  being  their  dainties ;  and 
if  in  the  neighborhood  wliere  a  bullock  is  killed,  they 
greedily  flock  to  the  spot,  secure  the  entrails,  and 
devour  them  without  cleansing.  They  are  also  very 
fond  of  the  flesh  of  the  whale ;  and  if  by  accident  one 
comes  ashore  on  the  coast,  or  they  take  one  at  either 
of  the  fisheries  in  the  bay,  they  resort  to  the  spot  in 
great  numbers  and  devour  the  meat,  fresh  or  putrid, 
without  cooking.  The  women  back  all  the  burdens, 
beside  carrying  the  children ;  the  child,  perfectly 
naked,  sits  astride  on  the  mother's  shoulder,  with  the 
hands  firmly  clasped  in  her  hair,  and  in  this  manner 
they  travel  miles  with  them.  Some  of  the  children 
carried  in  this  way  are  of  so  light  a  complexion,  as 
to  excite  strong  suspicion  of  amalgamation  with  some 
of  the  whites  in  the  neighborhood.  The  women, 
beside  the  child,  carry  a  bag,  into  which  all  the  sur- 
plus provision  is  stored.  Impelled  by  curiosity,  I 
one  day  bargained  for  a  sight  into  one  of  these 
mysterious  receptacles,  and  for  a  plug  of  tobacco  had 
revealed  to  my  sight  half  a  dozen  grubs,  several 


KELIGION.  83 

snails,  part  of  a  toad,  a  snake,  roots  and  herbs.  The 
snakes  they  will  not  eat  without  they  have  been  pre- 
sent at  the  time  they  were  killed,  being  fearful  that 
the  snake,  on  being  wounded,  should  have  bitten 
himself.  These  people  are  remarkable  for  accuracy 
of  vision  and  keen  scent.  For  the  former  quality 
they  are  occasionally  carried  out  by  whaleships,  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  out  from  the  masthead ;  and 
I  have  been  told  by  those  who  were  shipmates  with 
them,  that  they  could  discern  a  spout  or  sail  at  as 
great  a  distance  with  the  naked  eye,  as  a  practised 
hand  could  with  the  glass.  The  last  mentioned 
quality  causes  them  to  be  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment in  tracking  convicts  who  have  taken  to  the 
bush,  by  captains  of  whaleships  to  recover  deserters, 
and  by  the  settlers  to  track  up  their  stray  cattle.  In 
all  these  pursuits  they  are  said  to  be  infallible ; 
although  when  they  arrive  at  the  runaway,  if  he  pre- 
sent a  bold  face  to  them,  they  will  not  molest  him ; 
and  unless  they  have  a  white  man  with  them  to  urge 
them  on,  they  will  retreat  empty-handed.  They  have 
a  wholesome  dread  of  fire-arms,  and  some  of  their 
race  having  seen  a  revolving  pistol,  has  impressed  on 
most  of  them  the  supernatural  character  of  the 
weapon ;  and  the  "  little  fellow,"  as  they  call  it,  is  to 
them  a  great  bug-a-boo. 

On  the  strictest  inquix'y  I  could  not  discover  that  they 
had  any  religion.  The  only  inkling  that  I  received 
of  their  ideas  of  hereafter,  was  the  fear  they  expressed 
of  jing-ge,  a  word  synonymous  to  the  English  word 
devil ;  whether  they  have  gleaned  this  idea  from  their 
intercourse  with  the  whites,  or  that  it  is  traditionary 
with  them,  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining. 


84  LAZINESS — MUSIC. 

These  people  are  in  the  extremest  degree  indolent, 
and  are  only  induced  to  do  even  the  slightest  job  or 
errand,  by  promising  them  a  meal  upon  its  perform- 
ance. If  the  employer  good  naturedly  bestows  the 
recompense  when  they  are  partly  through,  or  the 
black  fellow  has  had  anything  to  eat  previously,  all 
eiForts  to  induce  him  to  return  to  the  work  are  futile 
—  words  and  blows  being  equally  useless.  On  the 
appearance  of  whaleships  in  the  baj^,  they  resort  to 
the  town,  and  every  member  of  said  ships  on  going 
ashore  is  importuned  for  hard  bread  and  tobacco, 
or  an  old  jack-knife ;  and  if  the  donor  gives  to  all 
who  ask  him,  he  soon  finds  his  stock  of  edibles  and 
patience  entirely  exhausted. 

There  are  no  musical  instruments  among  them ; 
their  vocal  music  is  monotonous,  and  sounds  harshlj^ 
to  the  ear.  At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  they  meet 
for  the  purpose  of  having  a  "corroborie"  as  they 
call  it,  to  which  every  member  wears  his  best  bouka  ; 
and  when  assembled  they  vie  with  each  other  in 
grotesque  grimaces  and  contortions,  both  of  form  and 
feature. 

These  people  are  protected  by  the  laws  equally 
with  the  whites  in  this  section.  Some  few  hundred 
miles  to  the  northward,  at  a  locality  known  as  Port 
Gregory,  it  is  but  a  word  and  a  blow ;  the  blow,  which 
is  generally  fatal,  coming  first.  In  the  latter  neighbor- 
hood, depredations  committed  on  the  settlers  are  the 
causes  of  their  harsh  treatment.  Some  few  of  them, 
when  young,  have  been  taken,  educated  and  clothed 
in  the  European  fashion,  but  in  vain ;  they  always 
prefer  life  in  the  bush,  with  their  own  people,  to 
all  the  advantages  of  civilization,  and  only  return  to 


CONVICTS.  85 

tlieir  benefactors  when  forced  by  hunger  to  do  so. 
This  often  happens,  as  they  are  exceedingly  improvi- 
dent. Their  mode  is,  on  obtaining  food,  to  gorge 
themselves  to  repletion,  and  then  to  sleep  or  hulk 
about  until  Providence  sends  them  another  supply, 
or  hunger  compels  them  to  seek  it. 

These  Australians  contrast  very  unfavorably  with 
our  aborigines  (the  N'orth  American  Indians),  being 
possessed  of  all  their  bad  qualities,  without  a  single 
one  of  their  redeeming  traits ;  the  same  love  of  rum 
and  tobacco,  and  a  mean  habit  of  pilfering,  without 
their  perseverance  in  the  chase  and  bravery  in  conflict. 
I  shall  now,  for  the  present,  bid  them  farewell,  though, 
as  my  narrative  proceeds,  I  will  again  have  occasion 
to  revert  to  them. 

As  this  settlement  is  part  of  a  penal  colony  to 
which  Great  Britain  consigns  her  malefactors,  for 
from  five  years  to  the  duration  of  their  lives,  to  atone 
for  ofiences  against  the  laws  of  their  country,  the 
society  is  not,  consequently,  what  we  at  home  would 
call  select;  but,  such  as  it  is,  it  has  its  aristocracy. 
Although  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are  con- 
victs, some  of  whom  have  served  out  their  term  of 
punishment,  the  word  convict  amongst  themselves 
is  never  used — it  being  apparently  banished,  by  com- 
mon consent,  from  their  conversation.  The  convicts 
here  form  three  grades  —  the  members  of  the  first, 
comprising  those  whose  sentences  have  not  been  ame- 
liorated, are  under  the  strict  surveillance  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  employed  on  government  work.  The  second 
class  are  known  as  "ticket  of  relief  holders;"  these, 
for  uniform  good  conduct,  receive  this  ticket,  which 
entitles  them  to  choose  their  own  employers  and  place 
8 


86  CONVICTS. 

of  residence ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  are  expected 
to  give  information  as  to  where  they  reside  to  the 
police,  and  to  be  within  doors  at  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening.    If  these' ticket  holders  continue  to  conduct 
themselves   in   a  praiseworthy  manner,   they   then 
receive  a  conditional  pardon,  w^hich  entitles  them  to 
leave  the  country,  but  at  the  same  time  debars  them 
from  returning  to  Great  Britain  or  Ireland;  or,  if  con- 
demned in  the  colonies,  from  returning  to  the  place 
of  conviction ;  permission  is,  however,  accorded  to 
them  to  take  up  their  residence  in  any  other  part  of 
this  colony,  or  in  any  colony  under  the  control  of  the 
English  government  —  England,  by  this  precaution, 
guarding  against  the  return  of  her  prison  population 
to  her  own  shore.     Hence  these  men,  knowing  that 
the  stigma  of  conviction  will  cling  to  their  skirts  as 
long  as  they  remain  in  this  country,  anxiously  desire 
to  embark  in  whalers  —  the  United  States  being,  in 
their  eyes,  the  land  of  promise  —  and  in  this  way 
numbers   of  emigrants  of  verj-  doubtful    character 
land  on  our  shores.     It  is  customary  for  whale-ships 
to  engage  some  of  these  men ;  occasionally  discharging 
their  entire  original  crew,  and  shipping  these  in  their 
places.    We  had  a  number  of  them  during  the  voy- 
age, and  in  this  port  we  shipped  two.     I  cannot  but 
deprecate  the  practice  of  introducing  men  of  such 
vicious  antecedents,  into  a  forecastle  in  which  are 
American   youths,  who,   by  intercourse   with   such 
people,  begin  quickly  to  have  very  crude  ideas  of 
morality;  and,  unless  there  is  some  strong-minded 
person,  with  a  clear,  cool  head,  to  rebut  their  specious 
arguments,  they  exercise  an  injurious  influence  on 
the  minds  of  the  young. 


.    TOBACCO    SMUGGLING.  87 

During  the  remainder  of  our  stay  in  tbis  port,  we 
were  engaged  in  giving  liberty,  boating  ashore  goods 
that  had  been  sold  or  exchanged  for  potatoes — other 
vegetables  not  being  procurable.  Beef  was  fur- 
nished sparingly,  it  being  alleged  that  a  sufficient 
supply  of  it  could  not  be  procured ;  but  as  I  then 
was,  and  since  have  been  informed,  that  thousands 
of  cattle  were  within  a  short  distance  of  the  town, 
the  story  requires  confirmation  to  make  it  credible. 

The  articles  chiefly  disposed  of  here  were  Yankee 
notions — fancy  shoes,  soap,  calicos,  saddles,  and  other 
such  stores.  Formerly  the  whalers  that  resorted 
to  these  ports  for  provisions  found  a  market  for  all 
their  surplus  articles ;  but,  at  the  present  time,  over- 
importation  has  caused  a  total  stoppage  of  their 
trade,  except  at  ruinous  prices.  Every  whale-ship 
that  comes  into  this  vicinity  brings  tons  of  tobacco 
in  her  outfit,  and  very  little,  if  any,  duty  is  paid  upon 
it — it  being  mostly  smuggled  ashore.  On  the  starting 
of  a  ship  for  port,  the  foremast  hands  always  resort  to 
the  slop-chest  for  tobacco,  which  they  carry  ashore 
and  dispose  of  at  three  times  its  original  price ;  thus 
eking  out  tlieir  liberty-money  to  a  respectable  sum, 
and,  much  or  little,  expending  it  quickly. 

The  excise  is  guarded  by  the  police,  who,  as  a 
matter  of  form,  look  into  every  boat  that  comes  in ; 
but  I  have  never  seen  any  difficulty  in  carrying 
ashore,  anywhere  in  the  colony,  twenty  or  thirt}^ 
pounds  of  the  weed  about  the  person;  and,  once 
ashore,  purchasers  are  readily  found. 

A  few  Americans  are  to  be  found  here,  in  every 
case  deserters  from  whaleships;  who  invariabl}^,  if  at 
all  attentive  to  business,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years, 


88  KEDGE  ANCHOR  DESERTS. 

accumulate  an  independence;  but,  unfortunately, 
they  are  too  apt  to  imbibe  a  taste  for  that  curse  of 
this  country,  rum,  and  live  from  hand  to  mouth, 
until,  becoming  unsettled  and  weary,  they  embark 
aboard  another  whaler,  and  in  time  get  home,  having 
little  or  nothing  due  them,  after  a  voluntary  exile  of 
eight  or  ten  years  from  home  and  friends. 

On  the  second  liberty-day,  given  to  the  larboard 
watch,  Kedge  Anchor  took  French  leave  and  fled  to 
the  bush  for  concealment.  For  some  days  we  saw 
nothing  of  him ;  but,  after  a  week's  absence,  he  was 
at  the  beach,  very  anxious  to  get  aboard  on  any  con- 
ditions. He  returned  miserably  filthy  and  covered 
with  vermin ;  his  clothing  almost  gone,  and  what 
he  had  left  was  all  of  one  color,  from  wallowing  in 
his  various  sleeping  places.  "Whilst  ashore,  he  was 
under  the  guidance  of  a  fellow,  who,  by  flaming 
accounts  of  the  condition  of  the  country,  induced 
him  to  desert,  intending  to  apply  to  our  captain  for 
his  berth.  On  Kedge's  return,  he  was  greeted  with 
laughter,  in  which  he  heartily  joined ;  and,  as  it  was 
impossible  to  get  angry  at  him,  he  escaped  with  a 
reprimand ;  the  captain  at  the  same  time  assuring 
him,  that  if,  at  any  future  time,  he  repeated  the 
attempt,  he  would  not  allow  him  to  return  aboard. 
What  efiect  this  had  we  shall  discover  as  we  proceed. 

At  lOJ  A.  M.  on  the  mt)rning  of  February  12th, 
the  ship  James  Allen,  and  barque  Henry  M.  Crapo, 
hove  up  their  ground  tackle  and  stood  out  to  sea. 
The  captain  of  the  James  Allen  had  been  vaunting 
of  the  speed  of  his  ship,  and  confidently  asserting  that 
she  would  outsail  any  ship  or  barque  in  the  harbor, 
he  issued  a  challenge.     We  hove  up  at  11  o'clock, 


SHIP   JAMES    ALLEN.  89 

half  an  hour  later  than  he,  and  in  the  course  of  two 
hours  had  both  the  Crapo  and  James  Allen  on  our 
lee  quarter.  As  we  passed  the  latter,  our  captain 
facetiously  desired  them  to  let  go  that  hawser.  They 
were  too  badly  beaten  to  answer  without  displaying 
their  chagrin ;  they  therefore  were  discreet,  and  said 
not  a  word.  As  this  ship  was  our  consort  from  this 
time  until  July,  1857,  I  shall  describe  her  and  her 
appointments.  Like  us,  she  was  built  from  an  old 
fashioned  model,  but  was  a  much  younger  ship.  Her 
captain  was  of  a  diminutive  person,  and  strove  to 
atone  for  his  small  size  by  blustering ;  his  first  officer, 
who,  from  all  accounts,  governed  the  ship,  delighted 
in  a  display  of  pugilistic  powers,  and  kicked,  cuffed, 
and  boxed  the  men  on  the  slightest  provocation. 
She  was  two  months  longer  from  home  than  we,  and 
up  to  this  time  had  taken  no  oil.  One  circumstance 
that  I  omitted,  in  my  remarks  on  Vasse,  was  the  fact 
of  a  collation  and  a  ball,  held  on  board  this  ship 
whilst  we  lay  there.  Invitations  were  issued,  and  the 
elite  of  the  vicinity,  for  miles  around,  accepted  them, 
and  at  about  3  o'clock  P.  M.  were  conveyed  aboard  the 
Allen  by  the  boats  of  the  vessels  in  the  harbor.  All 
the  vessels  had  their  colors  hoisted ;  the  captains  and 
chief  mates  were  the  only  guests  from  the  vessels. 
When  the  boats  with  their  freight  arrived  alongside, 
a  chair  that  had  a  whip  attached  to  it  was  lowered, 
the  ladies,  singly,  placed  in  it,  and,  reposing  on 
the  American  flag,  hoisted  aboard.  Here  a  can- 
vass screen  was  extended  across  the  quarter-deck,  just 
abaft  the  mainmast,  and,  after  a  hearty  repast,  a 
negro  fiddler,  who  is  an  American  by  birth,  and 
the  principal  headsman  at  the  bay  whale-fishery,  was 
8* 


90       BALL  ON  BOARD  THE  JAMES  ALLEN. 

called  into  requisition,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
triangle  player,  discoursed  music  for  the  dancers. 
Soon  the  whole  assembly  were  tripping  the  light 
fantastic  toe,  on  the  well-worn  decks  that  had  faced 
many  a  gale.  The  scene  was  pleasing.  The  coils 
of  rigging,  the  shrouds,  and  lower  masts  dimly  lit 
up  by  the  globe  lanterns,  reflecting  a  striking  picture, 
and  reminding  one  of  the  smugglers'  jubilees,  after 
a  successful  run ;  hardy,  weather-beaten  men,  lead- 
ing in  the  dance ;  fair  maidens,  I  was  about  to  say — 
but  the  scathing  sun  of  Australia  allows  very  few 
females  to  boast  a  fair  complexion,  although  their 
nut-brown  cheeks  glow  with  health.  The  respecta- 
bility of  these  people  I  know  nothing  about,  except 
from  hearsay ;  but  that  they  were  a  motley  collection 
I  was  assured  of  the  following  day,  by  hearing  an 
old  resident,  a  female,  describe  their  efforts,  or  rather 
the  efforts  of  some  of  the  party,  to  appear  covered 
with  finery  —  devoting  days  to  scouring  the  country 
and  collecting  it.  My  fair  countrywomen  must  not 
think  me  embittered  against  their  sex,  or  that  I  am 
anxious  to  do  them  injustice — God  forbid;  as  a  man 
and  a  sailor,  I  would  scorn  to  do  so ;  but  as  an 
American,  I  feel  the  superiority  of  my  countrywomen 
over  all  of  the  sex  in  other  countries  that  it  has  been 
my  privilege  to  see ;  and  to  favorably  compare  these 
females  with  those  of  my  native  country,  would,  in 
my  eyes,  be  an  insult  to  the  latter. 

I  must  advert  to  another  circumstance  before 
taking  final  leave  of  the  Yasse  for  "  fifty-six" — that  is 
the  existence  of  the  whale-fisheries  in  this  bay ;  there 
being  one  here,  and  one  thirty  miles  to  the  north- 
east, at  a  town  known  as  Bunbry.  At  certain  seasons 


WHALE-FISHERIES.  91 

the  right  and  humpback  whales  resort  to  the  various 
bays  on  this  coast  for  the  purpose  of  producing  their 
3^oung.  A  look-out  is  stationed  on  an  eminence 
ashore,  and  several  boat's  crews  being  near  at  hand,  at 
the  appearance  of  a  whale  the  alarm  is  given,  and 
they  start  in  pursuit.  At  times  their  work  is  very 
easy,  but  if  the  whale  should  run  out  to  sea,  after 
being  struck,  they  are  obliged  to  tow  him  to  the 
shears,  and  frequently  a  day  and  night  are  consumed 
in  this  arduous  employment.  If  the  whale  is  attended 
by  a  calf,  they  always  fasten  to  the  latter  first,  know- 
ing that  the  mother,  in  her  solicitude  for  her  offspring, 
is  very  careful  not  to  use  her  tremendous  flukes ;  or 
if  a  humpback,  her  sweeping  fins :  but  woe  betide 
the  boat,  unless  an  experienced  boat-header  directs 
it,  that  is  in  the  vicinity  when  she  discovers  that  her 
calf  is  dead.  She  then  remains  close  to  the  lifeless 
body,  striking  right  and  left  with  flukes  and  fins, 
to  avenge  her  loss;  and  as  the  slightest  tap  from 
these  formidable  weapons  would  cause  destruction, 
it  requires  all  the  boat-header's  adroitness  to  avoid 
them.  The  officers,  boatsteerers,  and,  if  they  can  by 
any  means  be  procured,  two- thirds  of  the  crews  are 
Americans :  we  having  a  world-wide  reputation  for 
skill  in  this  pursuit. 


92  ANOTHER   CAPTURE. 


CHAPTEK  lY. 

And  now  we  will  return  to  our  old  barque,  that  we 
left  beating  out  of  Geographe  bay,  having  distanced 
both  her  competitors,  and  established  her  reputation 
as  a  fast  ship.  At  night  we  shortened  sail  and  stood 
quarter  watches,  and  from  this  time  until  the  middle 
of  the  succeediug  month,  little  occurred  to  vary  the 
sameness  of  our  life.  We  were  aroused  from  inaction 
by  the  appearance  of  sperm  whales.  The  boats  were 
lowered,  and  the  waist  boat  fastening,  both  irons  drew. 
A  few  minutes  after,  the  starboard  boat  fastened  to 
another.  These  irons  holding,  after  a  two  hours'  con- 
flict we  had  a  fine  sperm  whale  alongside  the  ship 
without  accident,  except  the  voluntary  discharge  of 
the  bomb-lance  gun,  which,  fortunately,  was  pro- 
ductive of  no  injury;  We  had  good  weather,  and 
soon  he  was  disposed  of  in  our  lower  hold.  The 
following  morning  after  his  capture,  we  saw  three 
other  New  Bedford  ships  employed  in  cutting  in 
whales,  making  four  of  us  successful  in  the  war  of 
extermination  against  the  old  squarehead ers.  The 
sperm  whale,  swimming  in  immense  schools,  and 
always  pursuing  a  direct  route,  all  ships  that  lay  in 
their  course  have  a  chance  at  them.  I  have  heard  it 
asserted  that  at  night  these  whales  heave  to,  resuming 
their  course  at  daybreak ;  but,  although  my  inform- 
ants were  men  who  had  been  in  the  service  for  years, 


THE   SEA-SERPENT.  93 

I  consider  this  a  mistaken  opinion,  as  during  the  whole 
of  our  voyage  I  saw  nothing  to  corroborate  it.  I 
have  seen  sperm  whales  at  dusk,  and  in  the  night, 
and  they  were  always  on  the  move,  and  could  not 
be  discerned  the  following  morning  from  the  mast- 
head. 

During  this  month  we  gammoned  the  barque 
Lexington,  of  New  Bedford.  This  vessel  was  in  a 
wretched  state,  and  apprehensions  were  expressed  by 
her  crew  that  some  misfortune  would  befall  her:  she 
leaked  immoderately,  was  strained  and  very  weak, 
and  her  rigging  was  so  shattered  that  they  were  unable 
to  carry  sail,  except  in  moderate  weather.  Whilst  in 
company  with  us  she  could  not  hold  her  position, 
and  drifted  broadside  off  to  leeward.  Subsequently 
her  captain  carried  her  into  Mauritius,  where  she  was 
condemned,  and  sold,  only  to  be  refitted  as  a  colonial 
w^haler. 

One  day,  while  most  of  the  crew  were  listlessly 
reclining  on  the  decks,  the  extreme  heat  rendering 
exertion  fatiguing,  we  were  startled  by  old  Jack 
singing  out  from  aloft,  "  The  sea-serpent,  the  sea- 
serpent  !"  On  leaping  into  the  rigging,  we  saw  close 
to  us  a  long,  slender  object,  in  form  resembling  a 
snake.  It  was  of  a  bright  scarlet  color,  and,  although 
it  moved,  I  think  its  motion  was  produced  by  the 
undulation  of  the  waves,  and  although  Jack  assured 
us  that  he  had  often  seen  them  much  larger,  and  was 
willing  to  take  his  Bible  oath  that  this  was  the  identi- 
cal sea-serpent  about  which  so  many  newspaper 
articles  are  written,  I  am  still  inclined  to  think  that 
it  was  some  marine  vegetable  production.     It  was 


94  shark's  bay. 

about  twenty  feet  long,  and  as  thick  as  a  man's  arm  ; 
and  as  the  season  advanced  we  saw  many  of  them. 

At  another  time  we  were  startled  from  inactivity 
to  see  a  strange  monster,  which  the  boatsteerer  on 
the  maintopgallant  cross-trees,  on  being  questioned, 
could  give  no  explanation  of;  and  it  certainly  did 
present  an  appearance  different  from  anything  I  had 
previously  seen.  I  was  prepared  to  log  the  advent 
of  a  hitherto  undescribed,  and,  at  present,  indescriba- 
ble inhabitant  of  the  deep,  when  my  romance  was 
knocked  in  the  head  by  the  captain,  who,  at  the 
height  of  the  excitement,  stepped  to  the  rail,  saw  it, 
and  immediately  decided  that  it  was  a  young  fin- 
back whale  scooping  up  its  food,  which  it  did  by 
swimming  along  with  extended  jaws. 

We  had  now  gradually  worked  up  to  the  north- 
ward, until  we  had  arrived  on  our  cruising  ground 
for  the  season.  This  ground  is  off  Shark's  bay,  and 
extends  between  twenty  and  twenty-three  degrees  of 
South  latitude,  and  from  one  hundred  and  seven  to 
one  hundred  and  ten  degrees  of  East  longitude.  It 
bears  the  reputation  of  a  profitable  locality  for  whalers 
to  cruise  in.  The  bay  derives  its  name  from  the  pre- 
sence of  myriads  of  enormous  sharks,  and  all  over 
the  ground,  when  a  whale  is  alongside,  thousands 
may  be  seen  surrounding  the  ship,  tearing  off'  pieces 
of  blubber  from  the  whale,  and  revelling  in  his 
blood.  They  will  bite  at  anything.  I  have  seen 
them  pursue  our  wooden  buoy,  which  is  used  for 
attaching  the  hawser  to  the  whale's  flukes,  as  it 
gradually  arose  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
attempt  to  crush  it  between  their  hideous  jaws ;  and 
after  finding  they  could  make  no  impression  upon  it, 


LOSS    OF   A   whale's   HEAD.  95 

following  it  up,  occasionally  nipping  at  it  as  if  they 
did  not  understand  the  consistency  of  an  object  that 
resisted  their  incisors. 

On  Sunday,  April  27th,  we  lowered  away  for,  and 
captured  a  fine  sperm  whale.  The  James  Allen's 
boats  lowered  at  the  same  time  with  ours ;  they  arrived 
first  to  the  whale,  ran  on,  and  darted ;  but  their 
boatsteerer  missed,  and  our  waist  boat,  seizing  the 
opportunity,  ran  on  and  fastened.  On  the  following 
Sunday  we  again  saw  sperm  whales,  and  captured  an- 
other ;  on  the  succeeding  day  the  weather  was  boiste- 
rous, but  we  proceeded,  in  the  face  of  numerous  difli- 
culties,  to  cut  him  in  :  just  as  we  had  got  him  in  a  good 
position  for  hooking  on,  the  fluke  chain  parted,  and 
away  he  went.  We  lowered  away,  and  a  second  time 
secured  him.  In  attempting  to  veer,  the  whale  got 
under  the  ship,  and  it  was  only  by  strenuous  tugging 
and  hauling  that  we  raised  him.  At  length  we 
began  to  cut,  and  towards  noon  had  the  head  severed 
from  the  body ;  but,  after  various  attempts,  we  gave 
up  all  hopes  of  saving  it ;  it  w^as  then  allowed  to  tow 
from  the  quarter;  we  then  w^ent  to  work  at  the  body, 
and  at  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  had  it  all  aboard. 
The  weather  having  moderated,  we  renewed  our 
efforts  to  save  the  head,  and  succeeded  so  far  as  to 
get  it  in  tow  forward,  when  the  hawser  parted ;  we 
next  attached  a  studdingsail  tack  to  it;  but,  although 
the  rope  was  large  and  new,  it  parted  like  packthread. 
A  tub  of  line  was  then  bent  on,  and  the  head  allowed 
to  float  astern  ;  but  in  a  short  time  the  strap  attached 
to  the  head  chain  parted,  and  away  it  went,  a  total 
loss,  leaving  us  with  nothing  to  console  us,  except 
the  reflection  that  we  had  dene  all  that  men  could 


96  SUNDAY  WHALING. 

do,  to  save  it.  I  noticed  throughout  this  arduous 
day's  work,  the  general  alacrity  of  the  crew  in  striving 
to  do  their  utmost,  and  could  not  hut  comment  on 
the  advantages  of  giving  each  man  a  proportion  of 
the  vessel's  earnings,  instead  of  monthly  wages ;  in 
our  case  all  felt  themselves  personally  interested,  and 
conducted  themselves  accordingly. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  three-fifths  of  our  whaling  up 
to  this  time,  has  been  on  Sunday,  and,  subsequently, 
this  day  of  days  proved  equally  fortunate  for  us.  I 
do  not  wish  to  defend  the  practice  of  Sunday  whaling, 
and  think  that  if  a  man  makes  it  an  invariable  rule 
to  whale  only  on  week  days,  that  Providence  would 
so  dispose  it  that  he  should  not  be  a  loser.  We  saw 
several  of  these  Sunday  ships,  as  they  are  called,  and 
in  each  instance  they  had  quite  as  much  oil  as  their 
neighbors;  at  the  same  time,  it  takes  a  strong 
religious  bias  to  induce  a  man  who  depends  upon  the 
capture  of  whales  for  an  early  return  to  home  and 
friends,  after  being  separated  from  all  that  he  holds 
dear,  perhaps  for  years,  to  forego  attempting  their 
capture  on  a  Sunday.  In  fact,  the  temptation  is 
strong;  and,  strange  to  say,  most  whalers  see  greater 
numbers  of  whales  on  the  Sabbath  than  on  any  other 
day. 

Soon  afterwards  we  met  the  James  Allen.  Since  we 
last  saw  her  she  had  captured  a  whale,  her  first  — 
whose  lower  jaw  was  snapped  short  ofl^ — probably  in 
conflict  with  another  of  his  species.  These  creatures 
are  often  terribly  scarred,  and  their  teeth  indented 
and  broken,  as  if  another  whale  had  locked  jaws 
with  them  ;  in  which  case  something  must  start. 

In  the  month  of  May  we  gammoned  the  barque 


NEWS   FROM   HOME.  97 

Massasoit,  of  Mattapoisett,  and  from  her  got  several 
terrapins  which  she  procured  in  Madagascar.  These 
creatures  had  lived  in  her  lower  hold  for  twelve 
months,  we  kept  them  three  more;  still,  when  we 
killed  them  w^e  found  them  quite  fat,  and  had  a 
delicious  meal  off  them.  From  this  ship  we  also 
received  a  quantity  of  Madagascar  beans,  which  w^ere 
most  excellent  —  surpassing,  in  richness  and' flavor, 
the  best  of  our  beans  at  home.  They  are  about  the 
size  of  the  Lima  bean,  the  skin  being  covered  with 
black  spots. 

On  the  23d  of  May  we  spoke  the  barque  Ann,  of 
Sag  Harbor,  and  from  her  received  papers  -^ve  and  a 
half  months  old ;  they  were  treasures  to  us,  and 
were  read  w^ith  intense  interest,  advertisements  and 
all  coming  in  for  a  share  of  attention ;  these  papers 
were  full  of  anticipated  troubles  with  England,  and, 
of  course,  this  prospect  of  a  war  was  the  favorite 
topic.  Like  all  Americans,  we  felt  the  superiority 
of  the  universal  Yankee  nation,  and  had  no  fears  as 
to  the  result  in  case  of  a  war  with  John  Bull ;  and, 
from  the  general  tenor  of  the  conversation,  I  should 
infer  that,  in  case  of  emergency,  the  whalemen 
would  be  found  amongst  the  most  strenuous  sup- 
porters of  both  army  and  navy.  Another  light  also 
was  cast  on  the  subject  by  some  one  hoping  that  we 
should  be  ordered  home ;  and  as  a  war  would  raise 
the  price  of  oil,  and  induce  an  earlier  return  home, 
both  topics  of  intense  interest  to  us,  it  cannot  be 
wondered  that  we  were  so  much  engrossed  by  them. 

As  I  before  said,  we  shipped  two  new  men  in  the 
Yasse;  one  of  these  was,  according  to  his  own 
account,  a  renowned  pugilist,  and  had  fought  and 
9  Q 


98  A   PRIZE   FIGHT. 

conquered  in  a  dozen  fights  in  the  English  ring. 
He  was  allowed  to  vapor  for  a  long  time,  but 
one  pleasant  evening,  he  went  so  far  as  to  oiFer  to 
light  any  man  in  the  forecastle  for  an  English  sove- 
reign. His  ofier  was  instantly  accepted,  and  a  mere 
boy  was  chosen  as  his  antagonist.  In  less  time  than 
is  occupied  in  the  narration,  the  bully  was  describing 
some  queer  figures  on  the  forecastle  deck — tumbling 
in  and  out  of  bunks,  over  chests  and  kegs,  all  the 
time  begging  piteously  to  be  let  go.  After  a  few 
minutes  of  this  violent  exercise,  he  was  allowed  to 
get  up,  thoroughly  convinced  that  a  Yankee  hug  was 
at  any  time  a  puzzle  for  an  English  pugilist.  The 
following  morning  he  went  to  the  captain  to  com- 
plain of  his  ill  usage,  but  the  "  old  skipper"  had  already 
been  informed  of  the  merits  and  demerits  of  the 
case,  and  received  the  complainant  with  an  order  to 
clear  out  and  not  bother  him ;  but  he  was  too  anxious 
to  make  himself  heard,  and,  persisting  in  his  cock 
and  bull  story  until  the  captain  was  out  of  patience, 
he  was  rewarded  for  his  pains  by  an  application  of 
the  old  man's  heavy  boot  to  his  posterior,  and  a  box 
alongside  the  ear  from  his  powerful  hand,  that  sent 
him  forward  lamenting,  with  more  alacrity  than  he 
had  before  displayed  aboard  the  ship.  Previous  to 
this  occurrence  he  had  quarrelled  with  almost  every 
man  in  the  ship,  had  refused  to  obey  the  mate 
and  was  mastheaded  for  it,  and  evidently  appeared 
to  think  that,  because  he  was  an  English  subject,  he 
was  not  bound  to  conform  to  the  rules  of  our  vessel. 
On  the  8th  of  June,  we  took  our  departure  from 
this  ground,  intending  to  touch  at  the  town  of  Balli, 
on  the  island  of  Lombock,  an  island  a  few  degrees 


BED-BUGS.  99 

to  the  eastward  from  Java,  about  a  thousand  miles 
from  our  present  locality — a  long  journey  in  the  eyes 
of  a  landsman,  but  to  us,  who  for  months  had  been 
tossed  and  banged  about  at  the  caprice  of  the  wind 
and  wave,  it  was  but  a  part  of  our  customary  life ;  the 
trip  presenting  no  more  perils  than  our  ordinary 
daily  occupation.  And  then  again,  the  sea  watches, 
which  are  always  stood  when  sail  is  carried,  afibrd  a 
pleasant  variation,  the  long-continued  quarter  watches 
having  become  extremely  tiresome.  Many  slung 
their  hammocks  on  deck,  the  excessive  heat  of 
the  weather  and  the  bed-bugs  combined  —  the  latter 
being  always  in  great  numbers  in  old  ships — driving 
them  from  their  usual  sleeping  apartments.  I  re- 
member seeing  our  Portuguese  appear  on  deck  one 
night  nearly  nude,  rubbing  himself  most  vigorously, 
and  swearing  volubly  in  his  own  language.  On  my 
inquiring  of  him  as  to  what  was  the  matter,  he  an- 
swered, that  "  The  darned  bread  boxes  would  not  let 
him  sleep."  A  dozen  remedies  were  proposed  with 
the  utmost  apparent  seriousness.  One  advising  him 
to  catch  them  and  drown  them;  another  to  pull 
their  teeth  out ;  whilst  a  third  advised  him  to  smear 
his  bed  and  bed-clothes  with  tar,  for  then  they  would 
stick  fast  and  be  unable  to  get  at  him.  Jeering  and 
pestering  the  poor  fellow  until  glad  to  be  rid  of  his 
tormentors  on  deck,  he  returned  to  his  uncomfort- 
able couch,  and  resigned  himself  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  his  tormentors  below. 

On  our  passage  up  to  Balli,  which  climate  has  the 
reputation  of  being  very  unhealthy,  the  captain  ad- 
vised a  thorough  cleansing  and  whitewashing  of  the 
forecastle.  ISfo  sooner  said  than  done.   The  try  works 


100  CLEANING   SHIP. 

were  pressed  into  the  service,  a  fire  made,  the  pots 
filled  with  salt  water,  and,  whilst  it  was  heating,  the 
chests,  berth  furniture,  bed-clothes,  and  every  other 
movable  article,  were  removed  on  deck,  and  buckets 
of  boiling  hot  water  dashed  all  over  it.  Then  the 
whitewash  was  mixed,  and  with  a  piece  of  canvass, 
the  ship  not  being  able  to  boast  the  possession  of  a 
whitewash  brush,  a  thorough  coat  was  daubed  over 
everything,  and  things  made  to  wear  a  clean  and 
cheerful  appearance. 

The  old  duds  assembled  on  deck  formed  a  curious 
collection,  and  as  I  noticed  them  I  fancied  that  I 
could  read  the  character  of  the  owner  by  the  appear- 
ance of  each,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  he 
left  home.  The  neatly  painted  chest,  comfortable 
mattrass  and  quilt,  prepared  by  the  careful  hands  of 
some  fond  mother  or  sister,  fully  proved  that  their 
owner  was  a  ^ew  Bedford  boy,  w^hose  friends  knew 
precisely  what  would  conduce  to  his  comfort  when 
separated  from  them  b}^  thousands  of  miles  of  ocean 
waste ;  whilst  the  common  straw  bed,  rude  pine  box, 
outfit  quilt,  with  the  padding  run  into  one  corner, 
and  coarse  blankets,  testified  that  their  owner  was  a 
reckless,  careless  fellow,  who,  at  the  time  he  shipped, 
cared  little  for  outfit  or  anything  else,  except  getting 
to  sea,  and,  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  sharks, 
had  been  shoved  aboard  and  sent  afloat  with  the 
merest  necessaries. 

In  the  pile,  too,  may  be  noticed  an  assemblage 
of  hats  and  caps  that  w^ould  make  a  hatter  stare. 
During  the  first  six  months,  all  the  hats  and  caps 
brought  from  home,  without,  perhaps  one  may  have 
been  saved  to  wear  ashore,  were  blown  overboard,  for 


ISLAND   OF   SUMBAWA.  101 

when  a  man  goes  up  to  reef  topsails  in  a  gale,  he 
has  as  much  as  he  can  do  to  attend  to  himself  without 
taking  notice  of  his  hat,  and,  unless  it  fit  him  per- 
fectly tight,  he  is  sure  to  lose  it.  Hence,  in  this 
collection  may  be  seen  head  coverings  of  kangaroo 
skin,  canvass,  dungaree,  cloth,  and  other  materials, 
in  every  conceivable  shape  and  make ;  also  straw 
hats,  made  by  the  native  of  the  Spice  Islands,  the 
Arab  of  the  coast  of  Africa,  the  Madagascar  negro, 
the  swarthy  Portuguese,  and  the  Malay;  all  fabri- 
cated of  different  materials,  and  in  different  styles ; 
all  answering,  equally  well,  the  purpose  for  which 
they  are  designed  —  that  of  protecting  the  wearer 
from  the  seething  sun,  which  has  such  power  in  the 
native  countries  of  their  fabricators. 

After  beating  about  two  weeks — the  variability  of 
the  winds  delaying  our  passage  thus  long,  while, 
with  a  favorable  wind  and  plenty  of  it,  we  would 
have  accomplished  it  in  ninety-six  hours  —  we  hove 
in  sight  of  the  island  of  Sumbawa  —  the  James 
Allen  accompanying  us.  After  running  for  some 
distance  along  its  coast,  delighted  with  the  scenery 
— every  rock  and  crevice  being  covered  with  vegeta- 
tion of  the  richest  green,  clusters  of  cocoa-nut  trees 
rising  in  every  direction,  and  all  the  beauties  of 
tropical  verdure  opening  to  our  delighted  visions — a 
mountain,  said  to  be  volcanic,  came  in  for  a  due 
share  of  our  attention.  Soon  we  entered  the  Straits 
of  Alias,  and  saw  Balli  Peak,  a  mountain  of  consider- 
able altitude,  covered  with  vegetation.  Whilst  at  the 
mouth  of  the  straits,  we  were  greeted  with  a  sight 
of  a  water-spout  —  a  phenomena  so  often  described 
that  for  me  to  attempt  it  would  be  superfluous.     I 

9* 

/ 


102  MALAY   PROAS. 

will  only  state  that  sailors  have  a  belief  that  the 
water  of  which  they  are  composed,  although  coming 
from  the  ocean,  undergoes,  through  the  sun's  rays,  a 
distillation  that  deprives  it  of  its  salt.  After  we 
entered  the  straits,  we  alternately  had  a  succession  of 
calms  and  light  breezes  which  detained  us  for  some 
time;  but,  finally,  we  came  to  anchor  about  a  mile 
from  the  town,  in  ten  fathoms  of  water — the  James 
Allen  being  within  a  stone's  throw  of  us.  Near  us 
was  a  coral  reef,  which  prevents  craft,  except  of  light 
draught  of  water,  from  approaching  closer  to  the  town. 
A  number  of  the  native  vessels  lay  inside  of  us 
loading  with  rice.  These  vessels  are  known  as  proas 
—  some  of  them  are  good  sized ;  they  are  flat-bot- 
tomed, draw  but  very  little  water,  and  are  painted 
in  rude,  barbaric  style.  All  that  I  saw  of  any  size 
were  rigged  as  barques,  their  sails  being  mats,  manu- 
factured from  leaves  neatly  connected  so  as  to  present 
the  surface  to  the  wind. 


COCK  FIGHTING.  103 


CHAPTER  V. 


Soon  after  our  sails  were  stowed,  a  canoe  from  the 
town  came  alongside.  In  it  were  two  Malays,  who 
had  a  cargo  of  green  and  ripe  cocoa-nuts,  bananas, 
sugar-cane,  tamarinds,  pine  apples,  chickens,  and 
cockatoos.  They  were  desirous  of  bartering  these 
articles,  not  for  money,  but  sperm  whale's  teeth, 
which  they  term  "gee  gees,"  and  use  for  handles  to 
their  creeses,  after  having  neatly  carved  and  orna- 
mented them.  They  have  a  perfect  passion  for  these 
teeth,  and  having  at  one  time  exposed  to  their  view 
a  very  handsome  one,  I  was  beset  and  pestered  by 
these  people,  ashore  and  aboard,  to  sell  it.  Having 
no  desire  to  dispose  of  it,  I  at  first  only  laughed  at 
their  offers,  but  when  one  plucked  me  by  the  sleeve 
and  offered  me  a  dozen  chickens  for  it,  and  another 
his  whole  stock  in  trade  to  become  its  possessor,,  I 
wavered  and  let  it  go. 

The  cocks,  of  which  half  a  dozen  were  purchased, 
displaying  considerable  game,  two  were  pitted  against 
each  other,  and,  as  quickly  as  one  was  beaten,  another 
was  backed  against  the  victor,  until  they  were  tired 
of  fighting,  when  their  heads  were  cut  off,  and  we 
supped  upon  the  belligerents. 

The  captain  went  ashore  and  found  that  no  Ame- 
rican or  European  ship  had  been  here  for  several 
years. 


104  VISIT   TO   THE  MARKET. 

In  the  evening  great  numbers  of  the  natives  came 
down  and  waded  into  the  water ;  at  first  I  thought 
they  were  bathing,  but  afterw^ard  discovered  that  they 
were  engaged  in  fishing  for  a  diminutive  fish,  which 
I  think,   from   their  appearance,  must  have   been 
sardines.      On   the   ensuing   morning,   the   captain 
having  learned  that  we  lay  in  a  bad  position,  we  hove 
up  our  anchor  and  ran  a  short  distance  to  the  north- 
w^ard,  and  again  came  to  in  the  same  depth  of  w^ater. 
During  this  day  we  were  occupied   in  getting  off 
•water,  and  i-eeving  new  lanyards  to  our  lower  rigging ; 
and  this  laborious  work  in  latitude  8°,  was  rather 
warm.     We  were  visited   by  many  boats  from  the 
shore,  and  at  noon  had  a  comfortable  dinner  of  sweet 
potatoes,  rice,  chickens,  &c.    On  the  succeeding  day 
the  starboard  watch  went  ashore  on  liberty,  each 
member  of  it  provided  wath  half  a  dozen  j-ards  of 
gaudy-colored,   large-figured    calico.      We  walked 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  landing,  and  came  to 
anchor  at  the  market,  where  we  found  a  concourse 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  with  their  wares  ex- 
posed  to  view,  busily  soliciting  purchasers.     This 
market  was  situated  in  the  open  air,  near  by  a  cocoa- 
nut  grove.     They  had  for  sale   monkeys,  parrots, 
cockatoos,  cooked  and  uncooked  rice,  poultry,  limes, 
lemons,  oranges,  and  figs,  besides  the  fruits  before 
mentioned.    These  last  were  to  be  bought  for  a  song, 
and  as  we  had  been  so  long  without  these  luxuries, 
they  were  freely  indulged  in ;  but  what  suited  my 
palate  best  was  the  banana  fried  in  cocoa-nut  oil, 
which  an  old  woman  was  busily  engaged  preparing — 
plucking  the  fruit  from  the  tree  and  cooking  it.    Our 
appearance  set  these  merchants  agog,  but  they  were 


WOREKA.  105 

not  at  all  obtrusive,  and  waited  until  we  directed  our 
attention  to  them  before  they  approached  us ;  then 
they  surrounded  us,  a  dozen  at  a  time  asking,  how 
much  this  was,  all  their  English ;  but  we  were  not 
anxious  to  part  with  our  goods  before  discovering  the 
state  of  the  market.  Soon  a  man  joined  us  whose  com- 
plexion presented  a  queer  appearance,  being  formed 
of  half  a  dozen  different  shades,  arranged  in  spots, 
differing  in  size  as  in  color,  from  the  size  of  a  five 
cent  piece  to  that  of  a  silver  dollar,  and  in  shade 
from  a  light  yellow  to  a  deep  copper  tint ;  he  was 
well  made,  and  had  the  appearance  and  manners  of 
one  of  the  better  class;  he  conversed  in  intelligible 
sailor  English,  mixed  with  French  and  Spanish,  and 
evidently  considered  himself  a  great  linguist.  From 
his  account  of  himself  I  suppose  that  he  was  the 
rajah's  clerk.  He  seemed  anxious  for  me  to  describe, 
on  the  sand,  some  English  speaking,  as  he  termed  it ; 
and  after  I  had  complied  with  his  request,  he,  in 
return,  took  the  stick  and  drew  several  characters  to 
me  unintelligible.  He  stated  that  his  name  was 
Woreka,  and,  as  this  was  difficult  of  remembrance, 
he  was,  by  common  consent,  christened  John,  and 
seemed  quite  proud  of  his  title.  He  assumed 
the  office  of  chaperone  to  us,  and  through  his 
instrumentality  quite  a  number  disposed  of  their 
calico.  I  was  importuned  for  some  time,  by  a  native, 
for  mine,  and  finally  agreed  to  let  him  have  it  for 
four  hundred  pice.  After  some  demurrage,  he  agreed 
to  purchase  it,  but  did  not  possess  sufficient  current 
funds  about  him.  He  desired  me,  by  signs,  to  accom- 
pany him  to  his  house,  where,  he  said,  he  had  plenty ; 
and  on  my  reiterating  the  price,  he  repeated,  "  I  sabe, 


106  SELLING   CALICO. 

I  sabe,"  with  much  emphasis.  On  arriving  at  his 
house  he  handed  the  calico  to  his  wife,  who  was  as 
much  pleased  with  it  as  an  American  child  would  he 
with  a  toy.  Her  spouse  proceeded  up  stairs  to  pro- 
cure the  money,  and  whilst  he  was  gone  I  had  leisure 
to  observe  the  inmates  of  the  room.  The  wife,  a 
young  woman,  apparently  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
had  the  most  perfect  set  of  features  I  ever  beheld, 
and  hair,  which,  if  loosed,  would  flow  almost  to  the 
ground,  of  the  glossiest  black ;  her  complexion  was 
about  as  dark  as  that  of  our  Indian  squaws ;  her 
eyes,  black  and  piercing  —  lips  red  as  a  cherry ;  her 
form  full  of  grace,  and  straight  as  an  arrow.  She 
reminded  me  of  the  pictures  I  had  seen  of  oriental 
princesses ;  and,  certainly,  a  more  graceful  or  prettier 
queen  never  wielded  sceptre.  The  other  occupants 
were  an  old  woman  and  several  children.  By  the 
time  I  had  finished  my  scrutiny  mine  host  returned, 
and  presented  me  with  a  quantity  of  Chinese  coin, 
which  I  found  fell  one  hundred  pice  short  of  the  price 
agreed  upon.  I  informed  him  of  his  mistake,  but  as 
all  I  received  for  answer  was  "I  sabe,"  I  demanded 
the  restitution  of  the  calico.  For  this  purpose  he  ad- 
vanced to  his  wife  to  obtain  it,  and  when  she,  who 
had  been  watching  us  closel}^,  discovered  my  inten- 
tion of  depriving  her  of  her  prize,  her  pretty  features 
contracted  into  a  malignant  frown,  her  eyes  shone 
like  diamonds,  so  fierce  were  their  expression,  whilst 
she  stamped  her  little  bare  foot  indignantly  at  the 
afiront  she  deemed  imposed  upon  her.  In  considera- 
tion of  the  lady's  disappointment,  and  from  the  fact 
of  my  being  separated  some  half  a  mile  from  my 
comrades,  in  the  midst  of  a  village  containing  hun- 


PICE.  107 

dreds  of  Malays,  I  was  on  the  point  of  yielding; 
bat  the  lady's  rage  found  vent  in  words,  which, 
although  I  did  not  understand,  from  her  glances  and 
gestures  I  knew  were  directed  at  me ;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that,  if  I  were  able  to  translate  it,  it  would 
rival  the  Billingsgate  vocabulary.  I  in  turn  became 
warm  at  finding  myself  the  object  of  vituperation, 
even  from  such  rosy  lips  ;  and  then  reflecting  how  my 
story  would  sound  when  told  to  my  shipmates  — be- 
traying how  I,  one  of  the  oldest  amongst  them,  was 
overreached  by  a  Malay,  I  remained  firm  ;  and  getting 
possession  of  my  calico,  left  the  house  and  the  dusky 
lady — the  latter  to  continue  her  vituperations  to  her 
heart's  content,  now  that  I  was  out  of  ear-shot. 
Some  who  read  this  may  think  me  foolish  in  allowing 
it  to  nettle  me ;  but  I  know  of  nothing  more  vexing, 
even  to  a  patient  man,  than  to  be  made  the  subject 
of  abuse,  when  he  cannot  understand  his  villifier's 
language,  and  is  compelled  to  submit  without 
being  able  to  say  a  word  in  justification  of  him- 
self. I  walked  off  with  my  goods,  and,  to  avoid  a 
recurrence  of  such  a  scene  disposed  of  it  to  the  first 
who  offered,  receiving  in  exchange  four  strings  of 
pice,  small  Chinese  coin,  composed  of  a  mixture  of 
brass  and  copper,  impressed  with  Chinese  characters, 
eacli  having  a  square  hole  in  the  centre.  I  met 
several  others  of  my  shipmates  furnished  in  the  same 
way.  They  being  too  bulky  to  carry  in  our  pockets 
we  were  forced  to  carry  them  in  our  hands ;  one  of 
our  number  had  his  strung  on  a  stick  and  slung  over 
his  shoulder ;  the  Malays  carry  them  at  their  girdles. 
After  having  expended  a  few  of  them  for  fruit,  and 
one  hundred   and  fifty  each  for  our  dinners,  the 


108  DINNER  —  PARADE. 

balance  were  thrown  by  handsful  amongst  the  chil- 
dren, for  the  fun  of  seeing  the  naked  little  urchins 
scrambling  for  them.  Our  dinner  we  procured  from 
our  friend  John,  who  furnished  us  witli  a  ver}-  pala- 
table repast  of  bread  fruit,  cocoa-nuts,  yams,  sweet 
potatoes,  pumpkins,  chickens,  eggs,  and  rice.  The 
chickens  were  stewed  and  seasoned  to  a  high  degree 
with  Cayenne  pepper,  of  which  condiment  these 
people  are  excessively  fond,  and,  of  course,  think 
strangers  are,  or  should  be.  After  dinner  a  drum  and 
a  couple  of  gongs  were  produced,  and  several  natives 
beat  them  for  some  time,  making  nothing  like  music 
to  my  ears.  When  their  performance  had  ceased,  one 
of  our  fellows  seized  the  drum,  and  another,  having  his 
accordeon  ashore,  they  began  to  play  Yankee  Doodle ; 
this  was  home  music  to  us,  and  was  received  with  a 
burst  of  enthusiasm.  One  of  our  number,  who  had 
served  in  the  Mexican  war,  formed  the  men  in  line, 
with  bamboo  poles  in  the  stead  of  muskets,  with 
which  as  many  manoeuvres  were  performed  as  would 
have  excited  the  awkward  squad  to  emulation. 
The  natives  looked  on  with  great  glee.  Our  friend 
John  had  purchased,  from  one  of  the  party,  a  blue 
coat  with  brass  buttons,  and  a  double-barreled  pistol 
without  a  lock ;  the  coat  he  wore,  whilst  the  pistol 
was  displayed  in  a  prominent  position ;  and  with  these 
additions  to  his  usual  accoutrements  he  strutted 
around,  the  beheld  of  all  beholders.  Feeling  his 
dignity  much  increased  by  them,  a  razor  was  shown 
him,  to  which  he  took  a  great  fancy,  and  insisted  on 
being  shaved  with  it,  after  which  he  purchased  it. 
Edge  tools,  such  as  sheath  and  jack  knives,  scissors, 
&c.,  are  eagerly  sought  for  by  these  people ;  even  a 


HOW   THE   NATIVES    KILL   TIGERS.  109 

piece  of  iron  hoop  is  of  value,  and  a  foot  of  it  will 
procure  for  the  possessor  a  day's  regalement.  Their 
creeses,  one  of  which  each  male  carries,  are  short 
swords,  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  in  length, 
irregularly  shaped,  and  made  of  an  unpolished  soft 
metal ;  they  are  carried  in  neat  wooden  sheaths ;  the 
handles  are  of  ivory,  beautifully  carved  and  orna- 
mented. This  is  not  the  work  of  the  Malay,  but  of 
the  Chinese ;  and  the  fact  explains  the  eagerness  with 
which  they  purchase  whale's  teeth  —  their  hardness, 
and  the  superior  whiteness  of  the  ivory,  rendering 
them  peculiarly  applicable  for  this  purpose.  These 
weapons  are  used  by  them  in  their  encounters  with 
wild  beasts,  more  particularly  the  tiger,  which  infests 
these  islands.  Usually,  when  the  tiger  seizes  his  prey, 
they  told  us,  he  catches  his  victim  by  the  calico 
which  encircles  the  waist,  thus  leaving  his  arms  free ; 
then  the  Malay,  feeling  for  the  shoulder-blade,  inserts 
his  creese,  and,  piercing  the  beast's  heart,  relieves 
himself  from  his  cruel  enemy.  Their  descriptions 
of  their  encounters  with  the  tiger  I  am  inclined  to 
think  are,  to  a  great  extent,  bombast;  as  from  ob- 
servation, I  have  little  faith  in  their  confidence  in 
themselves  or  weapons  —  one  of  the  boatsteerers 
belonging  to  the  James  Allen,  when  under  the  in- 
fluence of  their  abominable  toddy,  driving  a  score 
of  them  before  him  with  a  good  sized  cudgel. 
Beside  their  creeses,  each  carries  in  his  girdle  a  box 
containing  the  beetle-nut,  of  which  he  takes  a  large 
piece  enveloped  in  a  green  leaf,  belonging  to  I  know 
not  what  plant,  and  swallows  it  with  great  gusto. 
This  practice,  w^hich  is  to  them  as  much  of  a  neces- 
sity as  tobacco  is  to  a  sailor,  blackens  their  teeth  to 
10 


110  FEMALE   WEAVERS. 

an  ebon  tinge,  and,  I  should  judge,  ruined  them  ;  as 
few,  even  of  the  youngest  of  those  who  have  arrived 
at  maturity,  have  anything  but  stumps  of  teeth.  They 
also  use  the  tobacco  which  grows  on  the  island, 
known  to  seamen  as  "  shag  tobacco."  It  has  little 
taste,  and  when  smoked,  exhales  an  unpleasant  odor ; 
grows  in  threads  and  looks  like  saffron. 

Here,  as  in  all  barbaric  countries,  the  women  are 
obliged  to  do  the  principal  part  of  the  work,  and 
they  ma}^  be  seen  walking  in  Indian  file  from  the 
rice  fields  to  the  granary,  each  carrying  on  her  head 
a  large  basket ;  the  whole  being  under  the  guidance 
of  a  strapping  Malay,  who,  from  appearance,  is 
anything  but  an  easy  taskmaster.  "We  saw  but  very 
little  of  the  unmarried  females,  except  at  a  distance ; 
they  were,  for  the  most  part,  engaged  in  weaving  a 
cloth  of  alternate  gaudy  colors.  On  our  approach 
the  weavers  would  drop  their  work  and  run  like 
deer.  We  examined  their  looms,  and  one  who,  at 
home,  had  been  a  weaver,  said  that  they  were  on  the 
same  principle  as  our  hand-looms.  The  reason 
ascribed  for  the  timidity  of  the  females  was,  that 
some  years  ago  a  Spanish  vessel  of  war  visited  the 
tow^n,  and  the  crew,  on  getting  ashore,  indulging  in 
anise  until  drunk,  indiscriminately  violated  and 
otherwise  maltreated  the  women.  We  could  occa- 
sionally detect  them  peeping  out,  to  have  a  look  at 
us,  from  some  secure  retreat,  l^o  liberties  could  be 
taken,  for  the  first  two  days,  with  any  of  them,  when 
an  acute  fellow,  moved  by  a  spirit,  not  unlike  Yankee 
speculation,  procured  prostitutes  from  an  adjacent 
.  town  ;  but  he  overshot  his  mark,  as  the  liberty  was 
then  stopped,  and  those  ashore  on  duty  were  not  pro- 


CHINESE  MERCHANTS  —  MALAY  HOUSES.     Ill 

vided  with  available  funds.  There  is  a  system  of 
slavery  here ;  and  John  showed  me  a  woman,  whom 
he  said  would  die — indeed,  she  appeared  in  the  last 
stages  of  disease  —  informing  me  at  the  same  time 
that  she  had  cost  him  eight  dollars,  but  that  he  would 
sell  her  to  me  for  three.  Having  no  desire  to  be 
possessed  of  a  human  chattel  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  I  declined  his  accommodating  offer.  I  could 
not  detect  any  difference  in  the  races ;  both  master 
and  slave  were,  apparently,  of  one  family. 

There  are  two  Chinese  merchants  located  here, 
who  appear  to  monopolize  the  whole  trade  of  the 
town ;  they  had  a  mart  filled  with  china  ware,  ver- 
milion, cards,  and  various  articles  of  Chinese  manu- 
facture ;  amongst  which  they  displayed,  as  very 
desirable  articles,  some  disgusting  licentious  paint- 
ings on  glass  —  the  workmanship  and  coloring  dis- 
playing no  mean  artistic  skill.  They  were  eager  to 
display  their  possessions,  and  showed  us  a  large  cam- 
phor-wood chest,  filled  with  pice ;  but,  although  the 
natives  were  continually  passing  in  and  out,  the 
merchants  manifested  no  apprehension  of  theft ;  they 
seemed  systematic  in  their  business,  and,  like  all 
Celestials,  considered  themselves  the  only  civilized 
nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

The  houses  the  Malays  inhabit  are  built  of  bamboo ; 
the  first  floor  is  raised  some  six  or  eight  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  the  second  about  ten  feet  above  the 
first ;  the  floors  are  of  split  bamboo.  These  houses  are 
airy  and  commodious ;  in  the  rainy  season  the  in- 
mates thatch  the  roof  and  cover  the  sides  with  mats, 
to  protect  themselves  from  the  weather. 

The   canoes,   generally,   are   built    of   tamarind- 


112  CANOES  —  CATTLE. 

wood,  having  outriggers  on  each  side  to  prevent  cap- 
sizing ;  they  are  propelled  hy  a  paddle  in  the  bow, 
and  one  on  the  quarter,  and  when  the  occupants  are 
hurried  they  skim  along  with  great  velocity.  One 
man  will  go  out  in  his  canoe,  drop  anchor,  and  smoke 
and  fish  all  day  long.  Seeming  to  think  the  straits 
belong  to  them,  they  will  neither  move  nor  turn  out 
for  anybody.  One  day  when  we  were  towing  a  raft 
of  water  aboard,  one  of  these  canoes  lay  directly  in 
our  course.  Finding  gestures  and  the  king's  English 
ineffectual  in  clearing  the  way,  we  merely  sheered 
our  boats  so  as  to  pass;  but  the  raft  continuing 
its  course,  caught  in  the  outrigger  of  the  canoe,  and, 
despite  the  exertions  of  its  owner,  it  was  dragged  for 
some  distance  before  he  was  able  to  extricate  it.  All 
the  time  he  was  spluttering  away  in  Malay,  until, 
finally,  he  mustered  enough  English  to  sing  out, 
"Let  go;"  but,  as  the  current  was  strong,  we  had  as 
much  as  we  could  do  to  hold  our  own,  without  help- 
ing hii?i. 

Their  cattle,  which  they  call  buflPalo,  do  not,  either 
in  size,  shape,  or  appearance,  resemble  the  rovers  on 
our  Western  prairies ;  they  are  small,  formed  like 
our  ox,  with  slender  legs,  and  hair  the  color  of  that 
of  the  deer.  I  at  once  pronounced  them  a  variety 
of  the  musk  ox,  and  when,  a  few  days  after,  I  par- 
took of  the  flesh,  my  opinion  was  strengthened. 
The  flesh  was  white  and  tender,  but  had  so  strong  an 
odor  and  taste  as  to  be  unpalatable  to  us.  I  do  not 
know  whether  the  Malays  eat  them  or  not.  The  cows 
give  a  rich  milk,  which,  like  the  flesh,  tastes  strong. 

Their  horses  are  undersized,  but  appear  active, 
hardy,  and  intelligent. 


PROVISIONS.  113 

Every  family  has  numbers  of  poultry,  and  it  is  a 
favorite  amusement  to  pit  them  against  each  other — 
houses  for  the  purpose  existing  in  several  parts  of 
the  town. 

The  ducks  are  the  most  peculiar  that  I  ever  saw  ; 
they  stand  erect,  with  their  heads  high  in  air,  and 
are  facetiously  nicknamed  "Balli  soldiers:"  they  are 
excellent  eating. 

The  principal  provisions  we  obtained  here  were 
sweet  potatoes  and  pumpkins;  the  former  were 
smaller  and  not  near  so  good  as  ours  at  home,  but 
formeda  pleasant  variety.  We  soon  disposed  of  them ; 
sixty  bushels  lasting  only  six  weeks.  The  pumpkins, 
in  shape  and  taste,  resemble  our  squashes.  We 
also  managed  to  get  a  few  yucas,  which  is  an  esculent 
resembling  the  potato,  and,  I  think,  a  small  variety 
of  the  yam. 

Beside  these,  we  carried  out  large  quantities  of 
cocoa-nuts,  bananas,  and  tamarinds  —  the  bananas, 
being  brought  aboard  in  an  unripe  state,  after 
a  few  days  were  fit  to  eat ;  our  cook  attempted  to 
boil  some,  but  the  attempt  proved  a  failure — we  pre- 
ferring them  raw.  The  tamarinds  w^ere  preserved 
in  molasses  and  stowed  away ;  they  are  valuable  for 
their  anti-scorbutic  properties,  and  were  kept  aboard 
for  years  after  leaving  Balli. 

One  day,  whilst  lying  here,  after  I  had  pretty  well 
satiated  my  curiosity  in  the  town,  I  strolled  into  the 
country,  and  came  across  a  cemetery  filled  with  heca- 
tombs —  a  slab  being  placed  at  the  head,  another  at 
the  foot  of  the  grave,  and  the  space  between  filled  with 
stones.  ]N"ear  this  cemetery  was  a  spot  enclosed  by 
a  high,  solid,  stone  wall,  but  I  could  not  ascertain 

10*  H 


114  STROLL   INTO   THE   COUNTRY. 

for  what  purpose  it  was  designed.  Pursuing  my 
way,  I  found  a  number  of  trees  covered  with  the 
names  of  ships  that  had  visited  Balli,  with  date  and 
country  attached  :  amongst  them  I  noticed  that  of  the 
Spanish  ship  before  mentioned,  and  those  of  several 
whalers,  with  the  quantity  of  oil  they  had  aboard 
specified.  I  found  some  one  had  been  here  before 
me  and  carved  our  old  barque's  name  in  large  charac- 
ters. Beyond  this  spot  I  discovered  that  a  very  popu- 
lous country  existed ;  but  why  we  had  not  been  told 
of  it  at  the  lower  town,  I  cannot  divine.  The  natives 
clustered  around  us  in  great  numbers,  and  the 
women,  after  the  first  sight,  were  not  afraid  to  ap- 
proach us.  In  the  centre  of  the  town  w^as  a  cock- 
pit, where  fowls,  with  steel  gafifs,  were  plunging 
at  each  other,  whilst  their  owners  and  backers  were 
freely  betting  as  to  the  result,  so  intensely  bent  on 
the  contest,  that  they  had  neither  eyes  nor  ears  for  us. 
Some  of  the  men  here  were  rather  officious,  and  we 
scarcely  knew^  what  their  intentions  might  be ;  pro- 
bably it  was  only  curiosity ;  but  it  induced  us  to  beat 
as  speedy  a  retreat  as  we  could,  without  exciting 
notice. 

These  people  are  very  temperate,  and  I  did  not  see 
them  indulge  in  any  of  their  intoxicating  liquors, 
which  consist  of  two  varieties ;  one,  a  scarlet-colored 
spirit,  which  they  call  "toddie,"  is  made  from  the 
fermented  juice  of  the  unripe  cocoa-nut.  At  first 
taste  it  does  not  appear  strong,  but  over-indulgence 
in  it  produces  either  stupefaction  or  a  species  of 
insanity,  resembling  no  efifect  I  have  ever  seen  from 
any  other  spirit.  In  the  first  case  the  subject  is 
reduced  to  perfect  helplessness  and  insensibility, 


VISIT    OF   THE    RAJAH.  115 

which  does  not  leave  him  altogether  for  several  days ; 
if  the  latter  effect  is  produced,  all  the  symptoms  of 
violent  insanity  appear,  and  the  madman  does  not 
rest  until  he  has  had  a  quarrel.  Hence  it  was  called 
"fighting  toddie;"  and  one  who  has  once  indulged 
in  it  shuns  it  afterwards,  on  the  principle  that  a 
burned  child  dreads  the  fire. 

The  Anise  is  a  colorless  liquid,  with  a  smoky,  fiery 
taste,  and  has  the  same  effect  as  other  spirituous 
drinks.  Neither  of  these  liquors  could  be  procured 
in  the  town  w^hen  we  first  came  ashore,  whereupon 
some  of  us  congratulated  ourselves  on  the  prospect 
of  a  temperate  and  sociable  day;  but  part  of  our 
crew,  determined  to  have  a  spree,  by  the  offer  of  half 
a  dozen  whale's  teeth,  induced  a  native  to  cross  the 
country  in  quest  of  it.  The  hesitation  of  the  people 
in  furnishing  it,  evidently  proceeded  from  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  its  effect  upon  seamen  when  ashore, 
and  indulging  in  it  ad  libitum. 

The  rajah  of  the  town  and  his  clerk  visited  the 
ship  one  morning.  The  rajah's  dress  and  air  were 
anything  but  kingly.  He  was  a  man  of  advanced  age, 
and  at  home  would  have  passed  muster  as  a  respectable 
looking  mulatto  ;  but  he  had  little  to  say,  not  under- 
standing our  language — his  clerk,  Tonga,  interpreting 
for  our  captain  and  he.  The  harbor  duties  were  paid 
in  powder,  with  the  addition  of  an  old  musket,  and 
the  provisions  in  whale's  teeth. 

The  coast  is  considered  unhealthy  by  the  natives 
themselves;  the  rajah's  clerk  expressing  himself 
anxious  to  get  away  into  the  interior,  saying  that  he 
was  fearful  of  being  sick.  The  utmost  care  was  taken 
by  us  to  prevent  sickness.     N"one  of  our  crew  were 


116  SICKNESS. 

necessitated  to  drink  the  water  —  a  cask  of  beer 
being  continually  on  draugbt  on  the  quarter-deck. 
No  sleeping  on  deck  was  allowed,  and  no  staying 
ashore  at  night.  Even  with  all  these  precautions, 
our  second  and  third  mates  were  very  ill — the  latter 
severely  so — and  also  one  of  the  crew,  with  a  debilita- 
ting fever  peculiar  to  the  climate.  Several  belonging 
to  the  James  Allen  also  had  reason  to  remember  Balli 
for  a  long  time  after  they  left  it  —  a  distressing  dys- 
entery continuing  to  affect  them  for  months.  At 
Angiers,  in  Java,  in  nearly  the  same  latitude  as  Balli, 
scarce  an  American  whaler  goes  out,  after  a  short 
stay,  without  leaving  one  or  more  of  her  crew  to 
repose  in  death  on  its  lovely  shores :  and  we  cannot  but 
feel  thankful  for  the  protecting  care  of  Providence, 
in  guarding  us  from  such  a  misfortune.  This  is  the 
only  objection  to  these  East  Indian  ports,  as  I  know 
of  none  where  a  crew  of  young  men,  if  so  disposed, 
can  pass  a  few  days  more  rationally  and  pleasantly, 
gleaning  at  the  same  time  useful  information.  The 
climate  appears  to  agree  w^ith  the  natives,  as  I  saw 
numbers  of  the  most  attenuated  human  beings,  who 
had  attained  a  great  age,  so  reduced  that  the  student 
might,  by  procuring  one  of  them,  readily  studj^  anato- 
my from  a  living  subject.  I  was  at  a  loss  for  a  long 
time  to  divine  the  occupation  of  these  emaciated  crea- 
tures, but  soon  found  that  they  were  mendicants.  They 
never  solicited  alms,  but  seemed  to  make  a  good  thing 
of  it  —  the  countrymen  and  women  bestowing  pice 
freely  amongst  them.  Although  so  old  and  reduced, 
their  vanity  still  remained,  as  was  shown  by  their 
eagerness  to  purchase  our  gaudy  calico. 

These  people  profess  the  religion  of  Mahomet,  and 


COCKATOOS  —  MONKEYS.  117 

their  creed  seems  to  enjoin  cleanliness  upon  them, 
as  they  are  neat  and  cleanly  to  an  almost  painful 
degree  —  performing  their  ablutions  frequently  and 
thoroughly,  like  all  others  of  the  same  faith.  Pork 
is  their  abomination,  as  much  as  it  is  to  the  children 
of  Judea. 

Parrots  and  cockatoos  exist  here  in  great  numbers, 
and  may  be  seen  in  the  lofty  cocoa-nut  trees.  The 
cockatoo  is  a  beautiful  bird,  about  the  size  of  our 
pigeon ;  it  is  perfectly  white  in  its  body  plumage ; 
on  the  head  is  a  crest  consisting  of  three  or  four 
feathers  of  a  beautiful  yellow,  which  it  elevates  at 
pleasure ;  it  has  a  formidable  beak,  is  easily  tamed, 
and  can  be  taught  to  articulate.  Ashore  I  saw 
several  domesticated,  that  jabbered  Malay  with  great 
fluency,  and  traversed  the  house  on  a  perfect  equality 
with  the  cats  and  children.  Monkeys  also,  may  be 
seen  in  these  groves ;  they  are  small,  but  active,  mis- 
chievous, and  intelligent.  Cockatoos  and  monkeys 
had  attracted  the  attention  of  more  than  one  of  us ; 
and  half  a  dozen  of  the  former,  and  two  of  the  latter, 
were  transferred  to  our  ship,  where  they  soon  made 
themselves  at  home.  The  birds  lived  for  some  time, 
but  were  finally  lost  overboard.  The  monkeys  not 
agreeing  well  together,  one  was  given  away,  and  the 
other  committed  suicide  by  eating  putty. 

On  the  last  liberty  day  Kedge  Anchor,  from  our 
vessel,  and  no  less  than  seven  from  the  James  Allen, 
deserted ;  but  their  departure  was  soon  reported,  and 
natives  despatched  in  search  of  them  on  the  same 
day.  After  a  tiresome  walk  of  ten  miles,  during 
which  they  represented  themselves  as  having  been 
treated  by  the  natives  with  the  utmost  hospitality, 


118  DESERTERS  —  LIVE    STOCK. 

they  found  tliemselves  surrounded  by  a  score  of 
the  rajah's  body  guard,  armed  with  drawn  creeses ; 
and,  with  some  demurrage,  the  deserters,  having 
no  arms,  were  compelled  to  submit.  JSTo  indignities 
w^ere  offered  to  them.  Horses  were  provided  for 
each,  and  thus  mounted  they  were  conducted  back 
to  the  coast  —  their  attendants  easily  keeping  pace 
with  them  on  foot.  They  arrived  at  night,  and  w^ere 
comfortably  provided  with  lodgings  and  an  excellent 
supper,  and  next  morning  were  delivered  over  to 
their  respective  captains,  on  the  payment  of  a  piece 
of  blue  cotton  cloth,  as  a  ransom  for  each.  There 
w^as  very  little  said  to  our  shipmate,  but  aboard  the 
Allen  her  deserters  were  handcufied  and  put  between 
decks ;  though  after  a  short  time  they  were  liberated. 
This  freak  hastened  our  departure  from  the  port,  and 
on  Sunday  morning,  at  3  o'clock,  all  hands  were  called 
to  "Up  anchor,  ahoy!"  With  a  merry  song  the 
W'indlass  was  manned,  and  soon  the  old  barque  was 
on  her  way  out.  We  had  several  hundred  chickens 
aboard,  one  hundred  ducks,  six  cockatoos,  tw^o  mon- 
keys, and  a  Malay  puppy.  These  creatures,  all  ex- 
cited by  the  unusual  position  they  found  themselves 
in,  were  respectively  venting  their  dissatisfaction  in 
the  most  vociferous  manner.  The  cackling  of  the 
chickens,  quacking  of  the  ducks,  chattering  of  cock- 
atoos and  monkeys,  the  yelping  of  the  puppy,  and 
the  merry  "  Yeo,  heave,  ho  !"  of  the  sailors,  blended, 
formed  a  chaos  of  noises,  indescribable  and  deafening. 
Our  bananas  were  hung  under  the  tops,  over  the 
stern,  and  on  the  stays  and  rigging  —  giving  our 
floating  home  a  lively  appearance. 

On  the  last  day  of  our  stay  in  port,  the  English- 


MONKEY  TRICKS.  119 

man  who  had  made  himself  so  disagreeable  to  all 
hands,  on  expressing  a  wish  to  be  left  ashore,  was 
discharged  by  our  captain.  He  had  seven  or  eight 
pounds  sterling ;  the  captain  gave  him  several  more,  as 
also  a  piece  of  cotton  stuff  for  which  he  could  readily 
procure  sale,  and  then  provided  him  a  guide  across  the 
country.  A  large,  powerful  man,  belonging  to  Troy, 
New  York,  having  effected  his  escape  from  the  Allen, 
on  the  last  day,  eluding  the  natives  sent  in  pursuit 
of  him,  was  supposed  to  have  accompanied  him,  and 
both  took  their  way  to  Anfernande,  a  seaport  some 
thirty  miles  distant. 

In  the  evening  of  the  day  that  we  took  our  de- 
parture from  this  pleasant  spot,  we  were  favored  with 
a  strong  breeze,  and  the  crew  became  themselves 
again  in  the  execution  of  their  multifarious  duties 
about  the  ship  ;  lying  in  port  always  giving  to  Jack 
Tar  a  sluggish  carriage;  but  the  moment  the  sea 
breeze  strikes  the  vessel,  he  livens  up  and  feels  him- 
self called  upon  for  exertion. 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  week,  the  cocoa-nuts, 
tamarinds,  and  bananas  were  proportionately  dis- 
tributed amongst  the  crew,  fore  and  aft,  and  these, 
wuth  fowl  additions  to  our  usual  sea  fare,  enabled 
lis  to  live  high  for  some  time ;  and  our  monkeys 
affording  a  source  of  amusement,  time  passed  speedily 
and  pleasantly.  These  little  creatures  soon  became 
expert  in  running  about  the  rigging ;  a  suit  of  sailor's 
clothes  was  made  for  them,  and  their  antics  in  this 
attire  were  most  ludicrous.  They  became  much 
attached  to  one  of  the  boatsteerers,  and  followed  him, 
in  fine  weather,  to  the  masthead.  One  day  he  ob- 
served them  run  in  company  to  the  extreme  end  of 


120  THE    OLD    CRUISIXG-GROUND. 

tho.  main  topgallant  yard-arm,  when  one,  with  a  mis- 
chievous grin,  pushed  the  other  ofi';  but  though  the 
poor  fellow  fell  on  deck,  he  escaped  with  slight  injury. 
With  a  fine  breeze,  we  steered  a  southerly  course, 
along  the  West  coast  of  I^ew  Holland,  until  we  arrived 
on  our  old  cruising-ground.  The  weather  here, 
although  a  few  weeks  previously  we  had  found  it 
uncomfortably  warm,  after  our  visit  to  so  much  lower 
latitudes,  felt  quite  chilly,  and  woolen  shirts,  stock- 
ings, and  underclothes — articles  of  apparel  to  which 
we  had  long  been  strangers — were  hunted  up  from 
out  of  the  way  nooks  and  corners  of  chests,  and 
donned.  We  here  saw  the  ship  Stephania,  of  !N'ew 
Bedford,  making  a  passage  for  Angiers,  whence  her 
course  went  homeward.  She  was  leaking  badly,  and 
her  crew  grumbled  at  the  oppressive  labor  of  pump-^ 
ing  in  the  existing  hot  weather.  She  had  considerable 
right  whale  oil,  taken  off  the  Island  of  Desolation, 
which  island  was  described  by  her  crew  as  a  miser- 
able place  for  cruising  —  cold  weather,  with  heavy 
gales,  prevailing  there  almost  all  the  time.  A  few 
days  previous  to  our  meeting  her,  they  had  been 
fast  to  a  large  sperm  whale,  which  crushed  a  boat  in 
its  huge  jaws,  seriously  injuring  the  captain's  hand 
at  the  time. 


ROUGH  WEATHER.  121 


CHAPTEK  YI. 

Finding,  after  a  short  stay,  that  the  ground  was 
deserted  both  by  ships  and  whales,  we  pursued  our 
course  to  the  southward,  intending  to  double  Cape 
Leuwin,  thence  to  the  eastward,  and  cruise  in  the 
Great  Australian  Bight.  Anticipating  heavy  weather 
in  those  latitudes,  our  foretopgallant  mast  was  sent 
down,  and  the  mizzen  topmast  housed ;  and  no  sooner 
were  we  thus  far  prepared  than  we  caught  a  heavy 
gale  that  exceeded  in  violence  anything  of  the  kind 
we  had  experienced  during  the  preceding  part  of  the 
voyage.  It  lasted  eight  or  nine  days,  and  as  there 
was  an  ugly  sea  running,  the  ship  was  almost  con- 
tinually drenched  the  whole  extent  of  her  decks. 
One  night  whilst  lying-to  in  the  gale,  wheu  its  vio- 
lence was  at  its  height,  a  heavy  sea  broke  over  the  ves- 
sel, carrying  away  part  of  the  starboard  bulwarks,  and 
filling  the  bow  boat  on  the  larboard  side.  The  davits 
of  the  boat  were  crushed  by  the  weight  of  the  water, 
and  the  boat  broke  down  amidships.  The  decks 
were  deluged,  and  it  was  necessary  to  knock  out  a 
part  of  the  lee  bulwarks  to  allow  the  water  to  escape. 
The  third  officer,  who  headed  the  watch,  called  the 
first  mate,  who,  on  coming  on  deck,  hurriedly  ran 
over  the  members  of  the  watch,  when  missing  one, 
whose  look-out  he  heard  it  was,  and  supposing  him  to 
Lave  been  on  the  forecastle  at  the  time  the  sea  was 
11 


122  ENGLISH   WHALERS. 

shipped,  he  gave  him  up  for  lost.  To  ascertain,  he 
cried  aloud  his  name  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  but  the  gale 
prevented  it  from  being  heard  a  short  distance  from 
the  speaker.  He  then  despatched  a  person  into  each 
top,  who  sang  out  for  him  without  result.  After  all 
had  decided  that  he  w^as  overboard,  without  hope  of 
relief,  he  was  found  snugly  ensconced  in  the  star- 
board boat,  totally  unaware  of  the  aDprehensions 
entertained  for  his  safety. 

On  the  6th  and  7th  of  August  we  fell  in  with  the 
barques  Aladdin  and  Lady  Emma,  and  the  brig 
Jane,  all  of  Ilobartown,  carrying  the  English  flag. 
These  were  the  first  whalers  we  had  seen  carrying 
other  than  our  own  glorious  banner.  We  gammoned 
them,  and  found  them  but  indifferent  craft  —  their 
rigging  poor,  and  scarce  any  discipline  existing  aboard 
of  them ;  their  slouching  arrangements  contrasting 
unfavorably  with  our  own  neat  and  tidy  appearance. 
Their  crews  are  composed  principally  of  convicts  who 
have  served  out  their  terms  of  sentence,  and  ticket-of- 
relief  men :  with  such  material  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
form  a  good  crew.  Their  officers  and  captains  were, 
in  many  cases,  from  the  same  class  of  society ;  and 
on  board  one  of  the  barques  the  master  was  so  igno- 
rant as  to  be  compelled  to  carry  a  navigator,  who 
directed  all  the  movements  of  the  ship,  except  when 
they  were  whaling.  A  few  Yankees  were  amongst 
them — in  every  case  deserters  from  American  whalers. 
The  residue  of  their  crews  contained  representatives 
from  all  parts  of  the  world — black,  yellow  and  brown ; 
Portuguese,  'New  Zealanders,  Kanackas  from  all  of 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  and  ISTegroes.  Aboard  some 
of  these  ships  the  forecastle  is  partitioned  into  two 


ENGLISH   SAILORS   DISSATISFIED.  125 

apartments,  in  one  of  which  the  blacks,  and  in  the 
other  the  whites  reside  —  neither  party  encroaching 
on  the  other.  These  ships  usually  fit  out  for  fifteen 
months,  but  generally  return  within  the  year;  their 
forecastles  look  desolate,  from  the  fact  that  none  of 
the  crew  bring  chests  to  sea  with  them ;  their  stock 
of  clothes  consisting,  in  many  instances,  only  of  the 
suit  they  wear  upon  their  backs.  Their  bedding,  too, 
from  lack  of  attention  to  their  outfit,  is  very  scant, 
and  is  therefore  iiisuflicient  in  such  cool  weather  as 
prevails  in  the  Bight  at  this  season  of  the  year.  They 
were  disposed  to  grumble,  and  exceeded  the  usual 
modicum  of  growling  accorded  to  the  sailor.  They 
envied  us  our  positions,  and  were  very  desirous  of 
effecting  an  exchange ;  some  went  so  far  as  to  ask  to 
be  concealed  when  their  boat  left  our  ship.  They 
represented  that  their  ships  were  leaky,  and  the  officers 
ignorant;  and  inveighed  in  unmeasured  terms  against 
their  rations,  describing  them  as  scant  and  unwhole- 
Bome.  These  must  not  be  considered  as  fair  speci- 
mens of  the  Hobartown  shipping,  as  afterward  we 
Baw  vessels  in  which,  although  their  management 
could  not  compare  with  ours,  their  crews  were  at 
least  contented,  and  their  vessels  and  rigging  pre- 
sented a  much  better  appearance  to  a  seaman's  eye. 

On  board  these  ships  grog  is  allowed;  by  some, 
daily ;  others,  semi-  and  tri-weekly ;  and  when  we 
informed  them  that  we  sailed  on  the  total  abstinence 
principle,  they  expressed  much  astonishment  at  the 
fact,  and  wondered  how  we  got  along  without  liquor. 

Several  ITew^Zealanders  in  the  respective  crews  of 
these  vessels  attracted  my  attention,  from  the  tattoo- 
ing on  their  bodies.     The  figures  on  the  face  and 


124  MEETING   OF   TWO   OLD   SCHOOLMATES. 

breast  were  not  near  so  disgusting,  as  from 
description  I  had  imaginecl  them  to  be. 

Quite  a  pleasant  incident  occurred  on  board  our 
vessel,  during  this  evening.  One  of  the  crew  of  the 
brig  Jane  came  into  our  forecastle,  and  inquired 
whether  there  were  any  natives  of  Patterson,  ^ew 
Jersey,  present.  Two  of  our  crew,  belonging  to  that 
city,  presented  themselves ;  and,  after  some  inquiries, 
one  of  them  proved  to  be  the  play-  and  school-mate 
of  the  stranger.  They  had  not  met  since  their  child- 
hood, and  their  meeting  now  caused  much  feeling 
on  each  side.  Both  had  followed  the  sea  for  years, 
and  been  self-exiled  as  it  were  from  their  native  land. 
When  a  stripling,  the  one  aboard  of  us  had  joined 
the  volunteers  in  General  Scott's  array,  then  in  Mexico. 
After  participating  in  the  struggle  until  peace  was 
declared,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  spent  his 
pay,  and  then  shipped  aboard  a  whaler  bound  to  the 
Arctic  ocean.  Having  been  forty  months  at  sea,  he 
came  back,  and  again  spent  his  earnings  just  as  fool- 
ishly as  he  had  done  before;  and,  being  compelled 
by  necessity  to  return  to  the  ocean  for  support,  he 
shipped  aboard  a  merchant  vessel  bound  for  Liver- 
pool. He  next  made  various  voyages  to  different 
parts  of  Europe  and  the  West  Indies,  experiencing 
perilous  vicissitudes ;  when,  finally,  he  embarked  on 
board  our  old  craft.  His  schoolmate  had  joined  a 
New  Bedford  whaler ;  which,  after  being  a  year  from 
home,  touched  at  a  port  on  the  eastern  coast  of  ]S"ew 
Zealand,  where  he  deserted,  and  engaged  for  a  time 
in  the  lumber  trade ;  in  which,  he  told  me,  he  would 
have  done  well,  if  he  had  left  liquor  alone.  From 
this  he  proceeded  to  trade  with  the  natives,  and  was 


REPORTED   LOSS   OF   THE   SHIP   TWILIGHT.         125 

finally  adopted  by  them  ;  but  their  mode  of  life  being 
distasteful  to  him,  he  engaged  in  the  coasting-trade, 
was  cast  away,  and  carried  into  Hobartown,  where 
he  at  length  joined  the  brig  Jane.  Both  these  men 
possessed  talents  above  mediocrity.  They  were  good 
Beameu,  and  their  qualifications  would  have  rendered 
them  good  citizens  also,  had  not  a  roving,  restless 
spirit  of  adventure  led  them  to  throw  away  their  time 
rambling  over  the  world. 

These  ships  pursue  the  blackfish  with  almost  as 
much  eagerness  as  they  do  the  whale,  and  their 
manoeuverings  for  this  small  game  often  deceived  us. 
The  crews  receive  a  large  proportion  of  the  vessels' 
earnings ;  but  they  get  only  forty  pounds  sterling  per 
ton  for  their  oil,  no  matter  what  price  it  brings  in 
the  market ;  so  that,  although  the  lays  are  shorter, 
the  actual  remuneration  is  about  equal  to  ours.  The 
only  advantage  they  possess  over  us  is  in  the  short- 
ness of  the  voyage :  during  the  whole  continuance 
of  it,  however,  they  allow  no  libei-ty,  and  only  touch 
at  insignificant  ports  for  vegetables. 

On  the  22d  we  sighted  sperm  whales.  Lowering 
away  the  waist  boat,  we  went  on  to  the  fish  —  the 
boatsteerer  darted;  but  the  irons  struck  the  head, 
and  did  not  penetrate.  The  whales  started  to  the 
windward,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  them  —  getting 
nothing  but  fisherman's  luck  for  our  pains. 

On  the  25th  we  were  informed  of  the  proba,ble  loss 
of  the  ship  Twilight,  of  New  Bedford :  it  being  sup- 
posed that  she  had  foundered  at  sea.  The  report 
was  originated  by  the  captain  of  the  barque  Draco.  It 
appears  that  the  two  vessels  sailed  from  King  George's 
Sound  in  company ;  and,  experiencing  an  exceedingly 
11* 


126  NOVEL    PUNISHMENT    OF    PUGILISTS. 

heavy  gale,  they  agreed  to  lie  by  each  other  during 
the  night,  either  party,  if  desirous  of  running  before 
the  gale,  agreeing  to  fire  a  rocket  or  show  a  light. 
No  such  signal  was  seen  from  the  Draco;  and  next 
morning,  on  the  Twilight's  not  being  discernible,  the 
conclusion  was  arrived  at  that  she  was  lost.  We 
were  agreeably  surprised,  a  few  weeks  after,  by  a 
sight  of  the  missing  ship.  Her  captain  had  before 
been  informed  of  the  report;  and,  on  our  running 
across  his  stern,  to  our  captain's  hail  he  replied,  that 
his  ship  was  the  ^Nonsuch  of  I^ew  Bedford. 

About  this  time,  I  was  much  amused  by  an  original 
method,  which  our  captain  instituted,  to  stop  pugilistic 
encounters  between  the  boys.  On  the  evening  pre- 
vious, a  Portuguese  boy  and  a  ^N'ew  Bedford  young- 
ster engaged  in  a  game  of  fisticuffs,  resulting  in  black 
eyes  and  skinned  noses  to  both  the  participants.  The 
captain,  on  making  inquiry  the  next  morning,  dis- 
covered enough  to  justify  him  in  punishing  them. 
For  this  purpose  he  tied  their  left  hands  firmly 
together,  and  placed  reef-points  in  their  right  hands. 
(These  points  are  manilla  ropes,  three  feet  long, 
whipped  at  both  ends,  and  about  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter  —  a  formidable  weapon  in  a  strong 
hand.)  Then,  after  getting  them  in  position,  he  in- 
structed them  to  lay  their  points  on  each  other's 
backs.  The  Bedford  boy  refusing  to  do  this,  the 
captain  took  the  point  in  his  own  hand,  and  gave 
him  a  cut,  which  operated  like  fire  amidst  dry  wood. 
At  it  they  went;  and,  both  being  game,  they  con- 
tinued the  infliction  of  the  points  for  half  an  hour, 
when  they  were  stopped  by  the  old  man.  One  of 
them  was  then  sent  to  sit  astride  the  extreme  end 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE    SHIP   ALEXANDER.  127 

of  the  flying  jib-boom,  and  the  other  to  occupy  a 
similar  position  on  the  spanker-boom.  The  other 
ships'  ofiicers  said,  merrily,  that  old  Sherman  was 
trimming  ship  to  beat  them. 

On  the  same  day,  by  the  ship  Alexander,  belonging 
to  the  same  owners  as  our  own  barque,  I  received 
letters  from  home.;  and  although  nine  months  old, 
they  were  heartily  welcome.  ^N'one  but  the  wanderer 
from  home  and  friends  knows,  or  can  imagine,  the 
joy  and  comfort  imparted  by  good  news  from  home. 
Such  events  are  the  oases  in  our  desert.  Newspapers 
were  also  sent  to  me ;  and  I  read  them  completely 
through,  advertisements  and  all,  with  a  degree  of 
attention  I  had  never  before  bestowed  on  a  printed 
sheet.  Others  were  not  so  fortunate  as  myself,  and 
gave  vent  to  their  disappointment  in  bitter  terms. 

The  Alexander  had  been  whaling  in  higher  lati- 
tudes than  we  were  —  she  having  visited  Desolation 
and  New  Zealand.  Her  present  captain  came  out  as 
first  officer;  for,  the  original  captain  being  taken 
sick,  had  returned  to  the  United  States  from  one  of 
the  Cape  De  Yerde  Islands,  and  his  mate  succeeded 
him  in  command.  Her  crew  described  their  first 
captain  as  having  been  a  trump ;  relating,  with  great 
glee,  that  on  the  cook's  serving  them  up  beans  badly 
cooked,  they  complained  to  him ;  and,  discovering 
their  complaint  to  be  well  founded,  he  forced  the  cook 
to  eat  the  whole  mess — giving  him  nothing  else 
to  eat  until  he  had  completed  the  task.  Ever  after- 
wards, they  said,  their  victuals  were  nicely  prepared. 
Off  the  western  coast  of  New  Zealand  they  had  seen 
sperm  whales  more  than  sixty  times ;  but,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  they  had  not  been  very  successful 


128         DANGER   FROM   THICK   WOOLEN   CLOTHING. 

in  capturing  tliem  —  having  taken  but  Rve  hundred 
barrels  of  oil  from  the  time  thej  left  home.  This 
ship  then  purposed  returning,  and  was  anxious  for 
us  to  accompany  her. 

Whilst  we  were  in  the  Bight,  the  barque  Austral- 
asian Packet  captured  a  sperm  whale.  The  weather 
was  boisterous,  and  they  did  not  succeed  in  getting 
hira  alongside  until  after  dark.  The  boat  that  was 
running  the  line  to  the  ship  was  struck  by  the  vessel, 
and  stoven  :  two  of  her  crew  clung  to  the  1)oat,  and 
escaped  ;  the  others  were  drowned.  The  M'hale  was 
allowed  to  go  adrift,  and  was  picked  up  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  by  the  ship  Hunter,  of  ]^ew  Bedford. 
By  this  sad  disaster  the  crew  of  the  Packet  were 
intimidated,  and  refused  to  do  any  more  whaling; 
therefore  the  captain  was  forced  to  return  with  her 
to  Hobartown. 

On  the  10th  of  October  we  gammoned  the  barque 
Eoclman,  of  ]!!Tew  Bedford,  twelve  months  out,  with 
twelve  hundred  barrels  of  oil.  She  was  by  far  the 
most  successful  ship  we  encountered.  Much  of  her  oil 
was  taken  off  Desolation;  and  her  crew,  like  that  of 
the  Stephania,  represented  that  whaling-ground  as  a 
perfect  purgatory.  They  said  that  the  weather  w^as 
so  intensely  cold,  that  it  was  necessary  to  envelop 
the  person  in  three  or  four  thicknesses  of  warm 
woolen  clothing  when  going  in  the  boats.  This 
practice  cost  one  of  their  crew  his  life ;  for  the  boat 
in  which  he  was  being  stoven,  from  the  heaviness 
of  his  clothing  when  saturated  he  was  unable  to  swim, 
though  he  knew  how,  and  he  perished  —  his  boat- 
mates  having  as  much  as  th-ey  could  do  to  save 
themselves.     They  had  also  been  into  Shark's  Bay, 


SCAKCITY   OF   SPERM   WHALES.  12^ 

in  pursuit  of  humpbacks,  and  lost  an  anchor  there; 
the  captain  had  also  there  rigged  a  bomb-gun,  so  as 
to  discharge  a  harpoon,  bat  on  putting  it  into  opera- 
tion shattered  his  hand. 

Doing  nothing  in  the  Bight,  and  being  assured  of 
the  scarcity  of  sperm  whales  on  its  grounds,  we  took 
our  departure  for  the  westward.  We  had  counted 
largely  on  this  season's  operations  —  forgetting  the 
old  maxim  of  not  reckoning  chickens  before  they 
are  hatched.  We  saw  sperm  whales  but  once  during 
the  season,  and  then  failed  to  make  a  capture.  We 
were,  without  palliation,  skunked :  our  whole  addi- 
tions being  a  porpoise  and  cowfish.  The  latter  fish 
is  of  the  same  species  as  the  porpoise,  only  differing 
from  it  in  size,  it  being  considerably  larger;  its  flesh 
is  coarser  and  not  so  good  eating. 

During  our  cruise  we  were  continually  in  sight  of 
some  one  or  more  islands  of  the  Recherche  Archi- 
pelago. These  islands  are  uninhabited  and  almost 
barren  —  the  only  green  appearance  being  a  stunted 
brushwood.  Around  these  islands  the  seal  is  found 
in  great  numbers,  and  small  craft  resort  to  them  for 
the  purpose  of  capturing  these  sea-dogs.  Several  of 
the  ships  lowered  their  boats,  which  went  in,  and 
stated  that  they  caught  numbers  of  fine  fish. 

Steering  to  the. westward  we  sighted  Bald  Island 
and  Baldhead,  and  cruised  in  their  neighborhood  for 
several  weeks,  seeing  sperm  whales  once,  but,  after 
a  hard  day's  chase,  giving  up  the  pursuit  as  futile. 
One  Sunday,  at  daybreak,  the  order  was  passed  for- 
ward to  loose  the  flying-jib.  One  of  the  hands  laying 
out  on  the  boom  for  the  purpose,  the  foot  rope  parted, 
and  he  was  precipitated  into  the  sea.     We  had  had 

I  . 


130  MAN   OVERBOARD. 

blustering  weather  for  a  few  days  previous,  and  a 
heavy  swell  was  on  at  the  time  of  the  catastrophe. 
!N"o  one  saw  him  fall ;  hut  one  of  the  crew,  imagining, 
as  he  thought,  that  he  heard  a  gurgling  sound  in  the 
water,  looked  over  the  bow,  and  saw  at  a  glance  what 
had  happened.  The  alarm  being  instantly  given, 
the  cry  of  "Man  overboard,"  resounded  throughout 
the  ship ;  and,  without  waiting  to  dress,  the  whole 
crew,  fore  and  aft,  made  their  appearance  on  deck. 
In  a  moment  the  wheel  was  put  hard  down,  and  the 
mainyard  hauled  aback.  The  first  ofiacer  sprang  into 
the  larboard  boat,  in  his  night  dress,  and  cut  the  gripes ; 
the  tackles  were  let  go  by  the  run,  and  the  moment 
she  touched  the  water  she  was  manned  by  a  crew, 
who,  with  strong  arms  and  brave  hearts,  lustily 
pulled  for  their  hapless  companion.  Fortunately,  he 
was  a  strong  swimmer,  and,  although  the  weather 
was  cold  and  .he  enveloped  in  the  heaviest  of  sea 
clothing,  with  his  coat  on,  also,  he  found  but  little 
difficulty  in  keeping  afloat.  In  a  short  time  the 
fourth  mate,  who  was  in  the  head  of  the  boat,  grasped 
him  and  hauled  him  aboard.  The  word  was  instantly 
given  that  he  was  saved,  l^o  cheers  followed  this 
agreeable  announcement;  but  a  deep-drawn  sigh 
of  satisfaction  expressed  the  relief  such  intelligence 
afforded.  In  eio^ht  minutes  from  the  time  the  order 
was  given  to  loose  the  sail,  we  had  him  safe  and  snug 
aboard  the  ship.  He  was  so  weak  as  to  be  unable  to 
clamber  from  the  boat  up  the  side.  On  stepping 
from  the  rail  to  the  deck,  he  was  welcomed  as  one 
restored  from  the  dead,  and,  after  many  assurances 
that  he  was  all  right,  except  a  slight  weakness,  the 
excitement  began  to  subside.     Xone  but  those  who 


KING  George's  sound.  131 

have  experienced  it,  can  imagine  the  effect  produced 
by  the  cry  of  "Man  overboard,"  on  every  hearer; 
and  to  us,  who  had  lived  for  more  than  a  year  to- 
gether, seeing  and  conversing  with  each  other  every 
hour  in  the  day,  all  depending  on  the  same  fabric  for 
shelter  against  the  storm  and  wave,  it  came  with  a 
ten-fold  force  —  as  none  knew  whose  turn  it  next 
might  be.  Nothing  serious  resulted  from  the  duck- 
ing ;  a  slight  cold,  that  soon  yielded  to  simple  treat- 
ment, being  the  only  affection. 

On  the  20th  we  stood  in  with  a  fair  wind,  passed 
Baldhead,  entered  Frenchman's  Bay,  and  came  to 
anchor  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening;  having  taken  a 
pilot  when  opposite  to  Baldhead.  A  few  hours  after 
the  James  Allen  made  her  appearance.  We  found 
at  anchor  the  barque  Wavelett,  of  New  Bedford. 
The  ensuing  morning  all  three  ships  weighed  their 
anchors  and  passed  through  a  narrow  passage  which 
connects  the  bay  with  the  sound.  The  Wavelett  and 
our  barque  came  to  anchor  in  good  shape,  but  the 
James  Allen,  in  trying  to  imitate  us,  ran  aground. 
After  a  few  hours  she  floated  clear.  At  anchor  in 
King  George's  Sound,  we  found  an  old  hulk,  with  only 
her  lower  masts  standing,  was  moored  stem  and  stern, 
and  used  for  the  reception  of  coals  for  the  steamships 
that  every  month  touch  there.  This  harbor  is  beauti- 
ful and  safe,  it  being  protected  from  almost  all  winds. 
About  a  mile  from  where  we  lay  is  the  town  of 
Albany,  a  settlement  containing  about  one  hundred 
houses,  and  five  hundred  inhabitants.  The  tenements 
are  principally  of  frame,  with  thatched  roofs.  Their 
occupants  are  of  the  same  class  as  those  of  Yasse. 
At  times,  it  is  said,  this  place  presents  quite  a  busi- 


132  SAILORS    POSTED. 

ness-like  appearance ;  but  when  we  visited  it,  every- 
thing like  trade  seemed  stagnant.  This  was  repre- 
sented to  be  caused  by  the  non-arrival  of  the  steamers ; 
the  government  having  withdrawn  them  to  use  as 
transports  for  troops  to  the  Crimea. 

For  the  first  three  or  four  days  we  were  visited  by 
heavy  rain  squalls,  which  preventing  much  work 
being  executed,  we  whiled  away  the  time,  between 
squalls,  in  angling — the  water  being  alive  with  fish — 
salmon,  herring,  mackarel,  and  whitings,  rewarding 
the  fisherman's  toil. 

We  had  little  trouble  here  to  procure  water  —  a 
large  tank  being  walled  in,  from  which  we  procured 
an  abundant  supply.  The  only  difiSculty  we  ex- 
perienced was  from  the  extreme  coldness  of  the  water 
while  rafting  it. 

On  the  27th  our  liberty  commenced.  On  going 
ashore  and  walking  up  the  beach,  we  found,  on  pass- 
ing the  custom-house,  a  notice,  signed  by  the  captains 
of  the  dififerent  ships  in  the  harbor,  notifying  all 
persons,  that  in  the  event  of  trusting  any  of  their 
men,  it  would  be  on  their  own  responsibility,  as  no 
debts  of  our  contracting  would  be  paid  by  the  said 
captains.  This  was  unusual  to  us,  as  we  had  never 
before  been  posted  in  port ;  but  it  may  have  been 
necessary,  as  the  sailor,  when  ashore,  thinks  of 
nothing  but  present  enjoyment.  When  he  is  half 
seas  over,  he  will  borrow  money,  or  buy  anything  on 
credit  from  persons  foolish  or  roguish  enough  to  trust 
him,  and  when  he  gets  at  sea,  will  tell  with  great 
satisfaction  how  nicely  he  bilked  the  land-lubbers ; 
but  in   ninety-nine   cases  out   of  the  hundred  the 


OLD   JACK    ASTRAY.  18S 

landsman  has  the  best  of  the  bargain,  seldom  letting 
Jack  Tar  weather  him. 

The  first  move  of  our  fellows  was  to  take  posses- 
sion of  an  English  bar-room,  strike  up  Yankee 
Doodle,  and  break  down  in  a  genuine  fore-and- 
after.  There  are  five  of  these  public  houses  in  this 
settlement;  one,  however,  was  chiefly  patronized  by 
the  ships'  crews,  from  the  fact  of  a  pretty  bar-maid 
presiding  over  the  spirits ;  and,  as  she  was  the  only 
creditable-looking  specimen  of  marriageable  femi- 
ninity in  the  place,  she  was  surrounded  by  admirers. 
She  met  all  with  a  cheerful  smile,  and  was  ever  pleasant 
to  both  officers  and  sailors,  always  granting  them  a 
kiss  of  her  fair  cheek,  when  ready  to  sail ;  while  her 
character,  from  a  certain  dignity  about  the  girl,  was 
unimpeachable. 

Of  course,  the  facilities  for  obtaining  liquor  being 
so  abundant,  there  was  the  usual  quantity  of  drinking; 
but,  without  prejudice,  I  feel  justified  in  saying,  that, 
of  the  three  crews,  ours  conducted  themselves  best, 
and  at  sun-down  returned  in  a  creditable  manner. 
Old  Jack,  however,  got  astray,  and  was  not  to  be 
found  at  night  when  the  boat  came  ofip.  The  next  day 
one  of  the  crew  found  him,  with  a  bottle  of  grog, 
close  by  a  small  dam  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 
After  being  thoroughly  awakened  by  a  hearty 
shaking  he  took  up  his  line  of  march,  which, 
by  the  way,  was  a  very  crooked  one,  for  the  beach, 
singing,  with  great  energy  — 

"The  sailor  loves  his  bottle,  0!" 

One  morning,  on  going  ashore,  we  found  that  the 
Wavelett's  crew  were  not  on  liberty.     !N'ews   soon 
12 


134  FRESH   MEAT   SCAHCE. 

transpired  that  there  had  been  trouble  aboard  of  her, 
and  that  part  of  her  crew  were  in  irons.  Tlieir  cap- 
tain left  the  town  and  went  aboard,  and  found  that 
they  refused  to  do  duty  unless  liberty  was  allowed  to 
them.  After  some  quibbling  he  consented,  and  they 
came  ashore.  Five  of  her  men  deserted,  three  of 
them  getting  clear;  but  the  other  two  were  traced  by 
the  natives,  and  apprehended  by  the  police.  One 
also  was  caught  who  bolted  from  the  Allen. 

Whilst  in  this  port  we  had  very  little,  in  fact, 
scarce  any,  fresh  meat.  The  reason  assigned  was  its 
scarcity ;  but  the  Wavelett's  crew  were  all  the  time 
well  supplied,  and  I  cannot  reconcile  the  two  circum- 
stances. We  certainly  needed  it,  having  been  from 
home  fifteen  months,  and  having  had  it  in  but  one 
port.  Few  potatoes  either  were  to  be  had  here,  and 
in  lieu  of  them  we  carried  to  sea  ruta  baga  turnips, 
which  were  mostly  eaten  by  the  pigs.  To  make 
amends  for  the  absence  of  fresh  meat,  a  supply  of 
fish  was  contracted  for  with  an  American — a  deserter 
from  a  whaler,  years  since,  who  has  married  and 
squatted  down  here,  where  he  sustains  himself  by 
fishing  and  boating.  These  fish,  in  appearance  and 
taste  were  very  much  like  those  known  as  porgies  at 
home ;  they  were  well  enough  occasionally,  but  a 
continual  fish  diet,  than  which  I  know  of  nothing 
more  tiresome,  soon  clogged  our  appetites,  and  the 
supply,  in  consequence,  far  exceeded  the  demand.  I 
well  remember  our  second  mate's  remark  on  this 
occasion  —  that  it  would  take  two  men  and  a  boy  to 
haul  ofi'  his  shirt,  as  he  had  eaten  so  many  fish  that 
the  bones  stuck  through  his  skin. 

From  this  time  up  to  i»[ovember  the  5th,  we  were 


SHIPMATE   DISCHARGED.  135 

wiudbound  in  this  dull  place — ^the  entrance  being  so 
narrow  that  it  is  impossible  to  gain  egress  without  a 
fair  wind.  On  the  3d,  the  hermaphrodite  brig  Louisa 
came  in  from  Adelaide.  During  these  days  of 
inaction,  to  kill  time,  some  would  fish ;  others  go 
ashore  in  search  of  clams,  or  raking  for  oysters ;  some 
gunning,  some  sailing,  and  others  in  search  of  shells  ; 
the  latter  generally  returning  wearied,  and  with  but 
few  of  the  bivalves. 

On  the  morning  of  ]N"ovember  the  5th,  IsTorman 
Kin  wood,  a  native  of  Manchester,  New  Hampshire, 
was  discharged  at  his  own  request,  from  inability  to 
do  duty;  he  having  been  sick  and  off  duty  almost 
the  whole  time  since  we  left  home,  with  chronic 
rheumatism — at  times  confined  to  his  berth  for  weeks 
together.  All  were  sorry  to  part  with  him,  but 
thought  it  better  for  him  to  be  ashore  when  unwell, 
than  to  be  confined  to  the  narrow  limits  of  a  fore- 
castle. For  a  few  days  he  was  much  missed,  although 
a  very  reserved  man ;  still,  it  was  one  familiar  face 
gone,  and  we  felt  that  our  little  circle  had  been 
broken  in  upon.  We  afterwards  learned  that  he 
remained  at  Albany  several  months,  and  then  took 
passage  in  a  schooner  for  Melbourne,  since  which 
nothing  has  been  heard  from  him.  We  shipped  a 
new  man  in  his  place,  and  at  9J  o'clock  on  N^ovember 
the  5th,  took  the  pilot  aboard,  hove  up  our  anchors, 
and  in  a  heavy  squall  stood  out  of  the  sound,  coming 
to  anchor  in  Frenchman's  Bay.  The  Allen  and 
Wavelett  soon  after  followed.  At  5  o'clock  we  hove 
up,  a  second  time  were  under  weigh,  and  with  a 
stiff  breeze  stood  out  to  sea,  steering  to  the  south- 
ward   until  we    were  in   latitude  40°,   where  we 


136  BARQUE   LADY   MACIXTOSH   GAMMONED. 

expected  to  see  plenty  of  right  whales :  and  we  did 
see  them,  too,  and  that  was  all  the  good  they  done 
us,  as  we  would  sight  them  from  the  ship,  but  the 
moment  a  boat  was  lowered  they  absquatulated  in  as 
secret  and  effectual  a  manner  as  a  defaulting  bank 
clerk.  Finding  we  could  do  nothing  with  these  shy 
gentlemen,  we  steered  north-west  for  Cape  Leuwin, 
hoping  to  see  sperm  whales,  to  recompense  us  for  six 
months'  time  thrown  away.  On  the  passage  we  gam- 
moned with  the  barque  Lady  Macintosh,  of  London. 
She  last  sailed  from  Adelaide,  having  carried  railroad 
iron  to  that  port  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 
railway  to  Melbourne,  which,  when  finished,  will  be 
the  first  work  of  the  kind  on  the  island.  She  was  then 
bound  to  the  East  Indies  for  a  cargo  of  teak-wood. 
It  is  not  usual  for  merchant  ships  to  lose  time  in 
visiting ;  but  in  this  case  both  ships  were  becalmed 
within  a  few  miles  of  each  other,  and  she  setting  her 
signal  our  captain  went  aboard. 

From  the  date  of  leaving  King  George's  Sound, 
until  the  11th  of  January,  1857,  little  transpired 
worthy  of  record,  except  the  capture  of  half-a-dozen 
blackfish,  and  the  usual  amount  of  gammoning  with 
other  whaleships  —  some  of  which  had  done  better, 
others  worse,  than  ourselves.  During  the  whole  of 
this  time  we  could  not  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  sperm 
whale ;  and  whilst  ships  in  our  immediate  neighbor- 
hood could  see  and  capture  them,  we  were  doing 
nothing.  We  double-manned  our  mastheads,  made 
more  sail,  and  passed  over  a  greater  space  everj^  day 
than  heretofore,  but  all  to  no  purpose;  the  whales 
were  still  beyond  our  vision.  Meantime  our  crew 
began  to  get  discouraged,  almost  a  year  having  elapsed 


CREW  DISCOURAGED.  137 

since  we  had  taken  any  oil,  and,  consequently,  since 
a  single  penny  had  been  earned  by  any  of  us.  Some 
took  it  very  easily,  but  they  were  those  to  whom 
whaling  was  distasteful ;  others  chafed  with  im- 
patience; but,  finally,  all  of  us  settled  down  into  the 
belief  that  we  had  about  all  the  oil  we  should  get 
this  voyage.  The  captain  kept  his  spirits  up,  and  was 
continually  foretelling  better  luck.  Our  time,  during 
this  interval,  was  got  rid  of  in  various  ways.  In 
warm  weather,  the  watches  on  deck,  as  well  as  those 
below,  were  for  the  most  part  slept  away ;  in  cold 
weather,  walking  fore  and  aft  the  deck,  with  hands 
thrust  deep  into  breeches  pockets,  seemed  the  only 
occupation  any  of  us  had.  There  was  no  work  to  be 
done,  in  fact,  but  to  break  out  our  provender  from 
the  ship's  hold  and  consume  it. 

On  the  11th,  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we 
squared  our  yards  and  steered  for  the  land.  At  9J 
the  following  morning  we  let  go  our  anchor  in  Bun- 
bury  Bay,  opposite  to,  and  about  a  mile  distant  from, 
the  town  of  Bunbury.  This  little  town  is  the  neatest 
that  I  have  seen  on  the  coast ;  and,  although  tTie  class 
of  population,  to  a  great  extent,  is  similar  to  that  in 
Yasse  and  the  Sound,  still  there  are  many  reside 
in  it  who  are  worthy,  respected,  hospitable,  and  in- 
telligent. Ours  was  the  first  ship  that  had  been  in 
the  harbor  for  years,  and  our  captain  received  the 
title  of  "  the  opener  of  the  port."  At  one  time  it  was 
a  place  of  great  resort  for  American  whale-ships,  but 
several  having,  by  some  means,  been  driven  ashore 
and  lost,  it  became  unpopular,  and  was  superseded 
by  Yasse.  The  high  price  of  provisions  and  generally 
disobliging  character  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  latter 
12* 


138  CREW  MISTAKEN   FOR   MONKEYS. 

place,  induced  our  captain  to  visit  Bunburj  as  an 
experiment,  which  proved  successful  in  the  highest 
degree.  We  were  eagerl}^  welcomed  on  going  ashore, 
and  cordially  invited  into  the  settlers'  houses.  The 
schools  were  allowed  a  holiday,  that  the  children 
might  visit  the  ship.  These  youngsters,  on  seeing  us, 
from  the-  shore,  engaged  aloft  (all  the  ship's  crew 
being  at  work  in  the  rigging),  tarring  down,  &c., 
deemed  us  monkeys,  and  could  not  be  convinced  to 
the  contrary  until  they  came  aboard  and  had  a  survey 
o.f  us.  This  was  rather  disparaging  to  some  thirty 
young  men,  belonging  to  the  smartest  nation  in  the 
world,  to  be  compared  to  brutes  ;  but  our  occupation 
originated  the  impression,  and  one  of  the  little  fellows 
observed,  on  coming  aboard,  "If  they  aint  monkeys, 
they  climb  about  just  like  them ;"  and  being  con- 
vinced that  he  had  gained  a  point,  strutted  oiF  in 
triumph. 

The  country,  hereabouts,  presents  a  fertile  appear- 
ance, contrasting  favorably  wdth  the  sandy  soil  in  other 
portions  of  the  colony  that  we  have  visited.  Pro- 
visions were  very  plentiful  here,  too,  and  we  w^ere 
enabled  to  procure  a  sufficiency  of  excellent  onions, 
potatoes,  cabbages,  and  turnips.  Part  of  the  onions 
and  cabbages  were  pickled  and  stowed  away  until  our 
fresh  supply  should  be  exhausted.  Excellent  fruit 
was  to  be  had  ashore,  comprising  apples,  peaches, 
melons,  and  pears ;  some  of  the  peaches  were  deli- 
cious, and  could  be  purchased  at  a  moderate  price. 

Many  of  the  natives  here  presented  a  better  ap- 
pearance than  any  I  had  before  seen,  being  clothed 
with  European  garments,  and  clean,  they  lost  half 
of  their  hideousness,  and   appeared   immeasurably 


FARMS  —  CROPS.  139 

superior  to  their  brethren  of  the  bush,  with  whom, 
however,  they  seemed  to  be  on  terms  of  the  utmost 
equality.  I  was  informed  by  a  resident,  that  several 
of  the  females  had  been  transformed  into  excellent 
house-servants ;  but  that  they  could  not  depend  on 
retaining  them,  from  their  unconquerable  predilection 
for  a  bush  life. 

On  the  outskirts  of  the  town  is  the  barrack,  w^here 
a  company  of  infantry  is  stationed,  to  whom,  in  a 
measure,  the  general  good  order  prevailing  is  due — • 
their  presence  intimidating  peace-breakers.  These 
red-coat  gentry,  stationed  in  a  town  in  time  of  peace, 
and  enforcing  the  strictest  discipline,  appear  rather 
strange  to  an  American ;  but  the  state  of  society 
renders  them  a  necessary  evil,  and  companies  of 
them  are  distributed  throughout  these  colonies. 

Within  a  circuit  of  a  few  miles  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  excellent  farms,  on  which  neat  buildings  are 
erected  for  dwellings  and  dairy  purposes.  The  prin- 
cipal products  of  these  farms  are  potatoes,  onions, 
cabbages,  and  the  various  garden  vegetables,  w^heat, 
rye,  and  oats.  Their  wheat  is  good  and  sweet,  but 
dark.  Their  oats,  as  they  acknowledge  themselves, 
scarcelj'  deserve  the  name.  They  informed  me  that 
they  raised  three  crops  of  potatoes  during  the  year. 
Indian  corn,  too,  is  cultivated,  but  not  to  any  extent. 
These  farms  are  surrounded  by  the  ordinary  post  and 
rail  fence,  made  of  the  native  mahogany — as  it  never 
requires  renewing  on  account  of  decay.  The  rasp- 
berry-jam, a  wood  resembling  in  smell  the  berry  of 
that  name,  and  susceptible  of  a  beautiful  polish,  is 
found  abundantly  in  the  neighborhood:  this  is  a 
handsome  wood,   and  when   recently  fractured  or 


140  RUMSELLERS. 

sawn,  the  odor  is  delightful.  Vessels  arrive  and 
depart  from  here  at  stated  intervals,  carrying  lumber 
to  Adelaide ;  they  only  take  the  mahogany,  which 
is  used  for  sleepers  to  the  railway  in  process  of 
construction  there.  These  crafts  carry  passengers, 
whom,  for  the  passage  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  they  charge  the  extortionate  price  often  pounds 
a  head ;  but  there  is  no  competition,  and,  therefore, 
they  have  it  all  their  own  way.  The  crafts  are  small, 
mostly  rigged  as  brigs  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  tons  measurement. 

As  in  all  other  settlements  on  this  coast,  the  rum- 
sellers  drive  a  thriving  trade,  although  here  there  are 
not  so  many  of  them,  there  being  but  two  depots  for 
the  sale  of  spirits  in  the  town.  One  of  them  holds 
forth  in  a  neat  brick  building,  w^hich,  they  told  me, 
cost  two  thousand  pounds  sterling  to  erect.  At  home 
the  same  description  of  building  w'ould  have  cost 
about  one  hundred  pounds,  or  five  hundred  dollars. 
As  everybody  here  drinks,  they  think  it  hospitable 
to  greet  the  stranger  with  ""What  will,  you  take?" 
and  consequently  our  fellows,  many  of  whom  never 
rejected  such  offers,  were  alive  for  fun  —  and  I  will 
guarantee  that  the  denizens  of  Bunbury  will,  for 
many  a  day,  remember  the  skylarking  of  the  Pacific's 
crew.  One,  after  getting  pretty  well  elevated,  took 
our  two  Portuguese  up  to  the  school,  and  insisted  on 
the  preceptor's  entering  their  names  on  his  list  of 
pupils. 

During  my  visit  ashore  I  went  through,  the  town 
from  beginning  to  end,  and  by  invitation  entered 
most  of  the  houses.  In  the  garden  of  one  I  was  shown 
a  young  kangaroo,  leaping  and  gambolling  about  in 


THE   COCKATOO    AND   TWENTY-EIGHT.  141 

the  most  graceful  and  easy  manner.  I  also  saw 
several  collections  of  birds :  the  cockatoo  and  whist- 
ling twenty-eight  being  the  most  noteworthy.  The 
cockatoo  varies  from  the  East  India  variety  in  the 
color  of  its  crest,  which  is  white ;  and,  after  some  tui- 
tion, they  talk  very  fluently,  as  I  was  assured  by  one 
who,  with  great  facility  asked  what  my  name  was. 
Not  seeing  the  bird  at  the  time,  I  turned  round  to  my 
companion  to  answer  his  inquiry,  as  I  thought,  when 
a  repetition  of  the  question  from  a  different  direction 
soon  satisfied  me  as  to  its  author.  On  my  hesitating 
to  answer,  the  bird  curtly  informed  me  that  he  would 
tell  his  mistress.  As  I  did  not  wish  to  incur  my  fair 
hostess'  displeasure,  she  having  furnished  me  with  a 
most  excellent  repast,  I  hastened  to  satisfy  him. 

The  twenty-eight  is  a  beautiful  bird,  resembling 
the  parrot.  What  it  derives  its  name  from  I  cannot 
imagine,  as  there  is,  whether  in  a  wild  or  domestic 
state,  nothing  in  its  note  that  to  my  ear  resembles 
the  sound  of  the  words  'twenty-eight."  The  prevail- 
ing color  of  its  plumage  is  green,  elegantly  variegated 
about  the  head  and  tail  with  yellow,  red,  and  black 
feathers.  These  birds  are  easily  taught  to  whistle  a 
tune.  Their  natural  note  is  pleasing,  and  somewhat 
resembling  that  of  the  cuckoo.  They  can  be  taught 
also  to  talk,  and  several  in  our  possession  far  exceeded 
in  this  respect  any  parrot  I  ever  saw.  When  taught 
they  are  highly  valued  by  the  settlers,  and  almost 
every  family  lias  one  or  more  of  them.  They  exist 
in  great  numbers  in  the  bush  of  the  vicinity,  and  are 
preferable  to  the  cockatoo,  because  they  are  free  from 
his  tricks  —  he  being  as  mischievous  as  a  monkey, 
when  allowed  to  traverse  the  house. 


142  SPEARING   FISH  —  SMALL   CUTTERS. 

A  river  runs  from  tlie  town  up  into  the  interior. 
On  following  its  windings,  I  found  it  too  shal- 
low for  craft  of  the  lightest  draught.  Thousands 
of  fowls  skim  over  its  surface :  the  shag,  the  swan, 
gulls,  and  the  monster  pelican  —  all  gathering  their 
living  from  its  waters.  In  the  rainy  season  it  he- 
comes  a  formidable  stream,  rushing  violently  over 
its  bed,  and  carrying  away  all  loose  objects  that  lie 
along  its  course.  In  this  river,  too,  I  saw  the  natives 
spearing  fish,  an  art  in  which  they  displayed  con- 
siderable skill.  "Wading  in  the  water,  and  patiently 
watching  until  the  prey  swam  near  them,  they  would 
expertly  strike  in  their  spears  and  transfix  it.  I  saw 
one  of  them  thus  encounter  a  shark,  piercing  him 
through  and  through,  until  he  despatched  the  mon- 
ster. During  the  whole  conflict  he  displayed  extreme 
adroitness  and  activity  in  keeping  out  of  the  way  of 
the  infuriated  creature,  when  with  gnashing  jaws  it 
turned  upon  its  antagonist.  Whenever  they  capture 
a  shark  they  eat  it. 

Small  cutters  are  continually  arriving  and  depart- 
ing from  and  for  Freemantle,  Yasse,  King  George's 
Sound,  and  Adelaide.  These  cutters  are  sloop-rigged, 
and  vary  in  size  from  ten  to  twenty-five  tons.  They 
are  built  of  mahogany  wood  in  the  colony,  and  are 
represented  as  safe  and  convenient  crafts ;  but  only 
the  largest  of  them  venture  to  cross  the  Bight  to 
Adelaide,  and  that  too  at  the  favorable  season  of  the 
year.  Their  freight  consists  of  produce  and  goods 
for  the  various  storekeepers  in  the  settlements. 

The  people  of  these  colonies  generally  profess  the 
faith  of  the  Church  of  England;  and  in  Yasse,  the 
Sound,  and  Bunbury,  Episcopalian  chapels  are  erected; 


TENPIN-ALLEY    AT   VASSE.  143 

but  in  none  of  these  places  do  the  inhabitants  display 
a  church-going  spirit.  During  the  hours  of  divine 
service  the  publicans  close  their  dens,  but  always 
manage  to  supply  their  customers  with  the  ardent 
on  the  sly.  They  consider  the  closing  of  their  houses 
very  unjust ;  and  one  of  them,  in  inveighing  against 
the  tyranny  of  the  laws,  gave  this  as  an  instance : 
lie  mentioned  that  the  government  had  prohibited 
card-playing,  or  any  other  game  of  chance  or  plea- 
sure— even  going  so  far  as  to  forbid  bowling-saloons ; 
and  that  they  were  led  to  pass  the  act  by  a  quarrel 
arising  from  a  game  of  cards  played  for  pastime  at  a 
public  house  in  Vasse,  in  which  one  of  the  players 
was  killed.  Speaking  of  bowling-saloons,  or  skittles, 
as  they  are  called  here,  reminds  me  that  we  heard, 
previous  to  our  visit  to  Vasse,  that  there  was  a  fine 
bowling-alley  there.  Congratulating  ourselves  on  this 
fact,  we  counted  on  a  game  at  tenpins  as  not  the 
least  of  our  anticipated  pleasures;  but,  lo,  and 
behold!  when  we  visited  it,  we  found  a  floor  of 
mahogany  boards,  some  two  feet  wide  and  twelve 
long.  The  pins  were  of  the  most  outlandish  shape, 
and  could  scarcely  be  made  to  retain  an  upright 
position,  even  when  held.  The  balls  were  nearer 
oval  than  round,  and  as  rough  on  their  surface  as  a 
cocoa-nut  with  the  hull  on.  There  were  only  two 
of  these ;  and  when  you  had  discharged  them,  you 
were  constrained  to  walk  to  the  farther  end  of  the 
alley,  and  carry  them  back  for  another  trial.  After 
vainly  endeavoring  for  a  few  minutes  to  make  the 
balls  roll  in  a  straight  line,  we  gave  the  attempt  up 
as  hopeless,  and  left  the  skittle-ground,  thoroughly 
convinced  of  its  demerits. 


144  BOARDED    BY   THE    POLICE    OF   BUNBURY. 

The  first  time  we  visited  Bunburj  there  were  no 
wells  whence  ships  could  procure  water;  so  we  held 
Geographe  Bay  in  abeyance,  knowing  that  we  would 
have  a  hundred  barrels  to  drag  through  its  sandy 
road.  After  a  week's  stay  we  hove  short,  set  our 
ensign,  and  were  boarded  by  the  police,  who  here 
act  as  custom-house  officials.  They  searched  the  ship 
fore  and  aft,  above  and  below,  as  they  thought  — 
although  we  might  have  had  a  score  of  the  prisoners 
stowed  away,  if  we  had  been  so  disposed ;  as  it  was, 
we  had  one  forward,  stowed  in  the  forepeak,  of  whom 
they  saw  no  trace.  We  carried  him  to  Vasse,  and 
set  him  ashore.  Their  mode  of  search  was  to  get 
into  the  hatchway,  and  insert  the  native  spears  in 
the  interstices  between  the  casks.  They  reviewed 
the  ship's  company,  in  order  to  satisfy  themselves 
no  interlopers  were  there,  and  then  delivered  up  the 
ship's  papers  and  departed.  We  then  set  sail, 
and,  after  twelve  hours'  beating  against  a  light 
headwind,  we  let  go  our  anchor  off  the  town  of 
Vasse,  where  we  procured  water.  Here  we  had 
several  quarters  of  fresh  beef —  in  Bunbury  we  had 
one  whole  sheep. 

On  the  20th,  the  ship  Twilight  came  in  and  in- 
formed us  that  the  barque  Mars,  with  numerous  letters 
for  us,  was  on  the  eve  of  making  this  port.  The 
next  morning  she  made  her  appearance,  and  her 
stock  of  letters  had  not  been  over-stated,  the  majority 
of  our  crew,  myself  amongst  the  number,  receiving 
letters  that  had  been  written  only  six  months  pre- 
vious ;  and,  as  all  of  us  had  good  news,  and  plenty  of 
newspapers,  we  were  more  pleasantly  employed  than 


SECOND    MATE   LEAVES   THE   VESSEL.  145 

we  should  have  been  had  we  just  captured  a  large 
whale. 

On  the  same  day  our  second  officer,  Mr.  E , 

left  us,  and  went  ashore ;  the  reason  he  assigned 
beius:  his  unwillino:ness  to  encounter  the  cold  weather 
on  the  coast  of  New  Zealand,  whither  we  were  bound. 
He  was  a  man  of  a  most  amiable  disposition,  had  a 
superior  intellect,  and  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
his  profession  —  both  as  sailor  and  whaleman.  He 
had  gained  the  respect  and  confidence  of  every  man 
aboard,  and  never  had  had  occasion  all  the  time 
we  were  together  to  chide  any  of  the  crew,  and  as 
his  chest  went  over  the  side  into  the  boat,  all  felt 
that  we  had  lost  a  friend.  This  was  the  second  with- 
drawal  of  members  of  our  original  crew  from  the 
ship.  Mr.  E.'s  intention  was  to  remain  ashore  until 
some  whaler  should  arrive  in  need  of  an  officer ;  in 
which  case  his  well-known  ability  would  easily 
procure  him  a  berth.  When  ready  to  sail,  the  cap- 
tain brought  an  American  aboard  who  had  been  in 
these  colonies  for  some  years,  and  was  slightly  related 
to  the  captain's  lady.  He  was  taken  into  the  cabin 
as  fourth  mate ;  the  former  fourth  officer  receiving 
the  position  of  third  mate,  and  the  former  third  the 
second  mate's  berth.  All  being  in  readiness,  we 
hove  up  our  ground-tackle,  and  with  a  fresh  breeze 
on  our  quarter  we  bade  adieu  to  Vasse. 

13  K 


14G  SHARK   CAPTURED. 


C-HAPTER  YII. 

Early  on  the  morDing  of  January  26th,  we  spoke 
and  gammoned  the  barque  La  Belle  Anna,  from 
Melbourne  to  Mauritius.  Through  the  kindness  of 
her  captain,  who  accommodatingly  delayed  until  we 
had  prepared  them,  we  sent  letters  home  via  the 
Mauritius,  which  were  duly  received.  On  the  same 
day  we  captured  a  shark  twelve  feet  long.  The  cap- 
ture of  this  fish  is  effected  more  in  a  spirit  of  mis- 
chief than  from  any  good  resulting  from  it;  the  sailor 
deeming  him  his  natural  enemy,  and  delighting  in 
putting  him  to  the  severest  torture.  Their  tenacity 
of  life  is  remarkable.  I  have  seen  a  red-hot  iron  run 
directly  through  the  heart  of  one  of  the  species,  and 
still  he  turned  and  bit  at  the  iron,  grasping  its  seeth- 
ing surface  between  his  huge  jaws  and  craunching  it, 
and,  vexed  at  its  non-impressibility,  lashing  his  tail 
with  rage.  I  have  also  seen  them  flayed,  and  still 
practising  as  many  contortions  as  an  eel ;  if  you  cut 
their  heads  half  off,  they  swim  away ;  and  if  you 
should  open  the  body  and  allow  the  entrails  to  drop 
out,  the  creature  seizes  them  in  his  jaws  and  tears 
them  in  his  agonj^  The  skin  is  used  as  sand-paper, 
it  being  covered  with  prickles.  The  backbone  is 
articulated  in  very  small  divisions,  which  enables  it 
to  turn  with  so  much  celerity  through  the  water. 
These  joints,  which  are  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 


SPERM   WHALE    CAPTURED.  147 

half  an  inch  thick,  are  collected  and  strung  on  an 
iron  rod,  and,  when  finished,  make  an  odd,  though 
not  ill-looking,  cane.  Few  seamen  eat  shark ;  but 
some  months  after  the  capture  of  the  above-men- 
tioned one,  I  saw  a  person  who  considered  their  flesh 
a  dainty.  He  was  captain  of  a  Colonial  whaler, 
and  took  every  possible  means  of  gratifying  this 
strange  appetite.  I  never  saw  its  flesh  cook,  but  from 
those  that  have,  I  learn  that  no  amount  of  cooking 
changes  its  appearance ;  as,  after  a  day's  boiling,  it 
appears  as  raw  as  ever. 

On  the  28th  we  sent  up  studding-sails  and  began 
a  passage  for  New  Zealand.  The  next  morning,  at 
daybreak,  w^hilst  carrying  all  sail,  we  sighted  sperm 
whales.  After  a  short  delay,  we  lowered  for  them. 
The  second  mate  fastened  to  a  large  one,  fired  a 
bomb-lance  into  him,  and  had  his  boat  capsized. 
The  crew  were  picked  up  and  brought  to  the  ship, 
also  the  boat,  which  was  found  uninjured.  The  first 
and  third  mates  continued  in  pursuit  of  the  whales, 
and,  after  a  short  interval,  the  latter  fastened  to  the 
same  whale.  The  fourth  mate  approached  the  fish, 
and  in  giving  him  a  lance,  got  his  boat  on  to  the 
whale's  flukes,  and  stove.  The  boat  was  towed 
to  the  ship ;  whilst  hoisting  her  aboard,  she  broke 
in  two  amidships,  was  condemned  as  useless,  and 
broken  up  for  firewood.  In  the  evening  we  had  the 
whale  alongside.  The  following  morning  we  began 
to  cut,  being  surrounded  by  thousands  of  sharks.  The 
boatsteerer,  who  went  dow^n  on  to  the  whale  to  hook 
on,  was  seized  by  a  shark,  who  caught  him  by  the 
back  of  the  heel.  Fortunately,  the  man  who  attended 
the  monkey-rope  attached  to  the  boatsteerer,  saw  the 


148  THE   BARQUE   COLUMBUS. 

movement  of  the  sliark  and  dras-o^ed  him  on  deck. 
The  wound  inflicted  was  severe  but  not  dangerous. 
Sharks  around  a  whale,  generally,  are  contented  with 
what  they  pick  up  from  his  carcass,  and  to  the  pleni- 
tude of  this  kind  of  food  for  their  ravenous  appetites, 
the  boatsteerer  owes  his  safety.  In  this  case  the 
sufferer  was  barefooted,  and  his  flesh  being  covered 
with  spermaceti,  probably  the  shark  thought  it  a 
dainty  piece  of  blubber. 

The  barque  Columbus  also  captured  a  large  whale 
on  this  same  dsiy.  In  1855,  this  barque  visited  Vasse 
and  carried  away  a  prisoner,  agreeing  to  place  him 
aboard  some  merchant  ship,  on  the  first  opportunity. 
This  was  accordingly  done,  for  which  the  captain 
received,  it  was  said,  a  large  sum  of  money  —  the 
criminal  being  well-provided  with  funds.  Whilst  we 
lay  in  Yasse,  it  leaked  out,  somehow  or  other,  that 
the  government  intended  seizing  the  vessel  on  her 
next  entry  into  a  colonial  port.  When  we  saw  her 
we  gave  her  the  news,  and  it  was  timely,  too,  as 
they  were  just  going  in  to  discharge  men,  w^hom 
they  had  engaged  in  Yasse  the  preceding  year. 

The  ground  that  we  were  now  on  is  off"  Cape  Chat- 
bam.  There  we  remained  until  the  middle  of  Febru- 
ary, when,  with  as  much  sail  set  as  the  old  ship  would 
stagger  under,  and  a  westerly  gale  on  the  quarter, 
we  resumed  our  passage  for  New  Zealand,  which  had 
been  interrupted  by  the  appearance  of  sperm  whales. 
The  passage  had  but  little  to  mark  it,  except  that  we 
went  in  the  course  of  it  through  the  northern  borders 
of  the  Antarctic  Ocean.  On  the  22d  (Washington's 
birthday)  we  entered  the  South  Pacific,  and  after  a 
epanking  run  of  fourteen  days,  we  sighted  land  and  a 


BARQUE  WAVELET!  ON  A  LEE  SHORE.     149 

sail  at  one  and  the  same  time.  The  sail  we  knew  to 
be  a  whaler,  from  her  boats  and  davits,  and  a  suc- 
cessful one,  too,  by  the  smoke  arising  from  her  try- 
works —  she  being  evidently  engaged  in  trying-out 
blabber.  On  running  across  her  stern  and  speaking 
each  other,  both  captains  answered  to  the  question 
of  "  What  ship  is  that  ?"  "  The  Pacific."  One,  how- 
ever, belonged  to  ITew  Bedford,  the  other  to  Hobar- 
town.  The  preceding  week  she  captured  two  whales. 
She  reported  that  she  had  been  cruising  to  the  south- 
ward on  the  SuUender  ground,  in  company  with  the 
ships  James  Allen  and  Alexander,  and  the  barque 
"Wavelett  —  that  all  three  of  these  vessels  had  been 
extremely  successful  in  capturing  whales,  but  that 
the  Wavelett,  when  last  seen,  was  on  a  lee  shore, 
with  a  large  whale  in  tow,  which  eventually  she  cast 
adrift.  Her  position  was  such  that  the  captain  and 
officers  of  the  Pacific  unite  in  thinking  it  impossible 
for  her  to  have  escaped  from  the  peril,  and  should 
she  have  gone  ashore,  the  rugged  and  precipitous 
coast  in  the  vicinity  of  Mason's  Bay,  where  she  was 
last  seen,  augurs  the  destruction  of  vessel  and  crew. 
We  made  up  our  minds  from  this  report  that  the 
Wavelett  and  her  crew,  who  but  a  short  time  before 
had  been  enjoying  themselves  with  us  in  King 
George's  Sound,  had  gone  to  Davy  Jones's  locker; 
but  five  months  afterward  we  were  agreeably  sur- 
prised on  picking  up  a  paper  published  in  the  Bay 
of  Islands,  to  find  her  reported  as  lying  in  port  there 
with  considerable  increase  in  her  stock  of  oil. 

One  of  those  continued  and  heavy  squalls  common 
to   the   coast   set  in   on   the   next   day.     They  are 
foretold  by  the  rapid  falling  of  the  mercury,  and 
13* 


150   STORMS  AND  FOGS  PREVALENT  ON  THE  COAST. 

by  the  wind  at  first  blowing  from  the  south-west 
with  the  greatest  intensity  from  eight  to  twelve 
hoars,  and  then,  shifting  to  the  opposite  point  of  the 
compass,  we  would  have  a  second  edition  of  about 
the  same  duration ;  the  north-easterly  gusts  being 
always  accompanied  with  torrents  of  rain,  unequalled 
in  violence  by  any  I  ever  saw  elsewhere.  This  weather 
would  sometimes  last  for  weeks  without  an  interval 
of  a  pleasant  day,  and  then  be  followed  by  a  thick 
mist,  which  enveloped  everything  for  five  or  six  days 
more ;  thus  precluding  the  possibility  of  whaling  or  the 
performance  of  other  duties.  Some  idea  of  this  miser- 
able weather  may  be  formed,  when  I  state  that  during 
the  four  months  we  continued  on  the  coast  we  were 
hove-to  for  fifty-eight  days,  and  at  least  half  as  many 
more  we  were  prevented  from  whaling  by  the  density 
of  the  fog.  "Whenever  our  barometer  foretold  such 
weather,  we  shortened  sail,  until  we  had  nothing 
spread  but  a  close-reefed  main  topsail,  main  spencer, 
and  foretopmast  staysail :  with  this  canvass  we  gene- 
rally managed  to  sweat  it  out;  although  on  two 
occasions  we  found  even  this  sail  too  much,  and  were 
compelled  to  clew  up  the  main  topsail,  and  heave  the 
ship  to  under  the  main  spencer.  On  another  occasion 
we  heard  a  clap,  like  the  discharge  of  a  gun,  and, 
hurrying  forward,  we  found  our  foretopmast  staysail 
blown  into  shreds. 

Of  course,  little  was  to  be  done  whilst  Boreas  was 
giving  vent  to  his  wrath  in  this  turbulent  manner. 
During  the  watches  on  deck  it  was  really  as  much 
as  one  could  do  to  look  out  for  himself.  Then  there 
was  the  rigging  to  keep  in  repair,  preventer-topsail 
braces  to  shift  and  reeve,  besides  taking  in  and  putting 


TACTICS    OF   SCHOONERS    ELIZA    AND    OTAGO.       151 

out  tlie  boats  :  with  these,  in  themselves  trifling  jobs, 
the  watch  on  deck  generally  became  thoroughly 
soaked  before  it  was  their  turn  to  go  below  ;  and  then 
an  anxious  period  was  spent  in  awaiting  a  gleam  of 
sunshine  to  dry  their  clothes.  The  weather  being  cold, 
to  use  their  own  expression,  "water  was  wet"  ;  and 
being  in  the  line  of  a  sea  coming  aboard  was  neither 
safe  nor  comfortable.  We  passed  the  time  away, 
however,  sleeping  day  after  day  about  sixteen  hours 
out  of  twenty-four. 

On  the  commencement  of  the  gale  above  referred 
to,  we  saw  a  colonial  schooner,  belonging  to  Jacob's 
River,  'New  Zealand,  square  her  yards  and  run  for 
Mary's  Bay  :  her  captain,  on  the  approach  of  a  gale, 
usually  running  into  one  of  the  many  safe  and 
pleasant  harbors  on  the  coast,  remaining  until  its 
violence  has  ceased,  and  then  popping  out  and  cruis- 
ing during  the  continuance  of  good  weather.  This 
schooner,  Eliza,  is  manned  by  New  Zealanders  — 
her  captain  and  mate  are  of  the  half-caste.  They 
are  a  manly  people,  without  much  intelligence,  but 
make  excellent  sailors  and  whalemen.  The  Otago, 
another  schooner,  whose  mode  of  conduct  corresponds 
with  that  of  the  Eliza,  and  also  belongs  to  the  same 
place,  has  a  Maurii  crew,  with  an  English  captain  and 
mate.  Some  months  after  this  I  had  considerable  inter- 
course with  these  very  pleasant  people,  and  shall  speak 
of  them  more  fully  as  I  progress  with  my  journal. 

Some  days  subsequently  we  ran  in  towards  the 
land,  and  found  that  the  same  storm  which  had  so 
liberally  besprinkled  us  with  rain  had  whitened  the 
mountain  caps  with  snow.  "We  ran  close  in :  there 
being  bold  water  to  the  very  base  of  the  rocks, 


152  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    COAST. 

capable  of  floating  the  largest  line-of-battle  ship. 
The  coast  is  irregular  and  rocky,  possessing  no  beach, 
and  only  in  the  bays,  which  are  numerous  and  safe, 
affording  facilities  for  boat  landing.  The  whole  face 
of  the  mountains,  which  in  some  cases  exceed  a  mile 
in  height,  is  covered  with  tall  trees.  One  of  these 
eminences,  when  seen  from  the  sea,  presents  an 
appearance  precisely  like  a  saddle,  and  hence  was 
rjamed  Saddle  Mount;  and  this  was  our  landmark 
for  four,  months  :  cruising  towards  and  from  it  —  at 
times  going  within  a  few  miles,  and  seldom  in  clear 
w^eather  being  out  of  sight  of  it.  It  can  be  seen  from 
the  masthead  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  as  we  proved  by  experience. 

On  this  ground,  in  company  with  us,  there  were 
about  a  dozen  English  ships  from  Sydney  and  Ho- 
bartown.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  weeks,  the  ships 
Alexander  and  James  Allen  made  their  appearance. 
Both  these  ships  had  run  into  Stewart's  Island  for 
vegetables,  and  whilst  there  they  had  lost  several  men 
by  desertion.  From  their  description,  there  is  little 
or  no  settlement  on  the  island,  the  country  being 
covered  with  the  ordinary  brush,  and  therefore  pre- 
senting scarcely  any  invitation  to  a  sojourner.  The 
men  who  left  the  ships  were  put  to  a  hard  shift  to 
sustain  themselves.  Several  of  them  managed  to 
reach  Otago,  a  town  in  the  vicinity,  where  they  ob- 
tained employment ;  several  left  in  small  crafts  for 
other  ports  on  the  coast;  and  one,  (from  whom  I  ob- 
tained the  knowledge  of  their  adventures,)  after  in  vain 
trying  to  get  along  ashore,  shipped  in  the  colonial 
whaling  schooner  Otago,  wdiere  I  saw  him.  He  gave  a 
ludicrous  description  of  their  ups  and  downs.    In  the 


ADVENTURES   OF  DESERTERS.  153 

first  place,  he  and  another  took  to  the  bush  for  con- 
cealment; and,  not  venturing  to  show  themselves, 
thej  remained  concealed  till  night.  It  was  intensely 
cold,  and  they  were  obliged  to  lie  on  each  other  to 
keep  warm.  The  under  place  being  preferable,  and 
each  wanting  to  secure  it,  almost  a  quarrel  was  oc- 
casioned thereby  between  them.  As  soon  as  their 
ship  had  departed,  they  came  out  from  their  hiding 
place,  but  could  find  no  one  to  relieve  their  neces- 
sities, nor  could  they  get  employment.  They  finally 
joined  the  natives,  who  fed  and  clothed  them.  Be- 
coming tired  of  this  kind  of  life,  they  eagerly  caught 
at  the  offer  of  a  berth  aboard  a  whaler.  This  poor 
fellow,  my  informant,  was  almost  destitute,  and  had 
sent  to  us  for  clothing,  of  which  a  bundle  was  col- 
lected for  him.  He  was  a  German,  with  a  very  thick 
head,  and  although  the  captain  of  the  schooner  was 
disposed  to  push  him  forward,  he  found  little  ground 
for  cultivation.  He  made  him  steward  of  the  craft ; 
but  he  soon  destroyed  all  the  crockery  ware,  and  was 
so  negligent  that  the  captain  and  mate  were  com- 
pelled to  carry  their  knives  and  forks  to  bed  with 
them,  in  order  to  find  them  when  wanted. 

One  of  the  men  belonging  to  the  James  Allen 
adopted  a  novel  plan  to  get  away  from  the  ship. 
He  was  a  middle-aged  man,  who  had  participated  in 
numerous  whaling-voyages.  On  the  Allen  he  held 
a  boatsteerer's  berth,  but  from  dislike  on  the  part  of 
his  captain,  he  was  broken,  and  sent  into  the  fore- 
castle. In  his  many  voyages,  he  had  mastered  the 
language  of  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  which  is  intelli- 
gible to  the  native  'New  Zealander,  and  vice  versa. 
On  the  night  that  he  determined  to  desert,  he  pro- 


154:  BOAT    CAPSIZED   AND    MAN   DROWNED. 

cured  the  pauiicli  of  a  blackfisb,  wbich  is  readily 
found  on  board  a  wbaler — it  being  well  adapted  for 
making  drugs ;  in  it  be  stowed  bis  clotbes,  and 
firmly  securing  tbe  aperture,  be  bad  an  air-tigbt  bag, 
witb  wbicb  be  succeeded  in  reaching  tbe  shore  in 
safety.  Having  a  good  deal  of  Yankee  shrewdness, 
and  being  able  to  tinker  a  little,  as  well  as  to  con- 
verse intelligibly,  be  managed  to  get  into  employ- 
ment, and  was  doing  quite  well  when  last  beard 
from. 

On  tbe  last  day  of  March  our  mastbeadsman  sung 
out,  that  there  were  boats  whaling  ahead.  We  stood 
towards  them,  and,  in  tbe  course  of  an  hour,  found 
that  tbe  James  Allen's  boats  were  fast  to  a  large 
sperm  whale.  We  kept  on  running,  and  sighted  more 
whales.  We  lowered  away  our  boats  at  about  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  ;  but  at  4J  o'clock  we  called  them 
aboard,  and  stood  out  to  sea.  The  boats  were  agaiii 
lowered  at  5  o'clock ;  and  the  third  mate,  after  half 
an  hour's  chase,  struck  a  noble  whale,  his  boatsteerer 
giving  him  both  irons  clear  to  tbe  socket.  Scarcely, 
however,  had  the  second  harpoon  left  his  hand  when 
tbe  boat  was  struck  twice  in  succession  by  tbe  whale's 
flukes.  The  blows  were  struck  between  the  bow  and 
amidship  thwarts,  knocking  a  large  hole  completely 
through  her.  She  soon  filled,  and  capsized.  The 
crew  swam  to  her,  and  got  upon  her  bottom ;  but, 
there  being  a  heavy  swell  on,  she  continued  to  roll 
over  and  over,  tbe  crew  following  her  as  best  they 
could.  Several  times  they  regained  their  position  on 
her;  but  just  as  the  other  boats  approached  the  scene 
of  disaster,  to  give  them  aid,  they  discovered  that  one 
of  their  number  was  missing.     At  tbe  same  instant 


CHARACTER   AXD   FATE   OF  JOHN  WALTER.        155 

the  third  mate  cried  out,  that  some  one  bad  hold  of 
his  legs,  and  urged  haste  on  the  part  of  the  approach- 
ing boat.  Being  a  strong  swimmer,  he  managed  to 
keep  himself  afloat,  notwithstanding  the  drowning 
man's  clutch,  until  they  had  caught  hold  of  him  from 
the  boat ;  but  then  he  instantly  exclaimed,  "He  has  let 
go ! "  I'he  boatsteerer  of  the  larboard  boat  dove  in, 
but  could  see  nothing  of  him  ;  and  his  boatmates  were 
forced  to  return  aboard,  leaving  him  at  rest  in  the 
sea,  over  which  he  had  voyaged  for  years.  Upon 
the  boat's  arriving  at  the  ship,  the  captain  hailed 
it;  and,  fearing  the  worst,  asked  if  any  one  was 
lost.  On  being  answered  that  John  was  drowned, 
he  appeared  much  affected,  and  wept  like  a  child. 
The  lost  man  was  a  German,  named  John  "Walter, 
belonging  to  Hamburg.  He  was  of  an  amiable  dis- 
position, and  had  endeared  himself  by  his  good  qua- 
lities to  all  on  board.  He  w^as  every  inch  a  sailor, 
having  spent  a  number  of  years  in  the  American 
merchant-service,  wdierein,  strange  to  say,  he  had 
several  times  narrowly  escaped  drowning.  On  our 
first  visit  to  Vasse,  he  was  also  barely  saved  from  a 
similar  fate.  It  is  customary,  just  previous  to  leaving 
port,  to  roll  the  l)oats  over  and  over  in  the  water,  for 
the  purpose  of  cleansing  them  from  the  sand  that  is 
collected  in  them  by  beaching ;  which  is  usually  done, 
amid  much  merriment,  by  several  men  stripping  and 
going  into  the  water  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  the 
operation.  On  the. day  to  wJiich  I  have  reference, 
John  Walter  was  seated  in  a  boat,  wdien  orders  were 
given  to  roll  her.  He  remained  in  her;  and  the 
officer,  supposing  that  he  could  swim,  but  did  not 
care  to  take  ofi:'his  clothes,  ordered  the  boat-plugs  to 


156    EMOTION   CAUSED   BY  DEATH   OF   A   SHIPMATE. 

be  drawn  out ;  whereupon  she  filled,  and  rolled  over. 
From  his  frantic  struggles,  w^e  then  discovered  his 
inability  to  support  himself.  The  alarm  was  instantly 
given ;  and  a  boat  alongside,  belonging  to  the  barque 
Monmouth,  of  Cold  Spring,  was  cast  loose,  and  soon 
had  him  aboard,  totally  exhausted,  l^ow,  however, 
after  these  hairbreadth  escapes,  as  if  fate  had  such  a 
death  in  store  for  him,  he  met  a  watery  grave  in  the 
broad  South  Pacific  Ocean.  Well  may  his  life  be 
said  to  have  been  one  of  fearful  vicissitudes.  But  he 
had  not  always  been  alone  in  his  imminent  perils ; 
for  in  one  case,  whilst  pursuing  the  hazardous  duties 
of  his  arduous  profession,  he  found  himself  in  the 
middle  of  the  Atlantic,  aboard  a  ship  fearfully  leaking. 
The  cargo,  which  was  salt,  having  got  into  the  pump- 
wells,  prevented  their  being  used ;  and  it  was  only 
by  the  most  strenuous  exertions,  that  they  were 
enabled  to  retrace  their  course,  and  run  their  ship 
ashore  in  the  harbor  of  Cadiz. 

And  now  our  little  circle  was  broken  into  by  the 
Kin  or  of  Terrors!  Sailino:  under  the  same  flas:  — 
every  day  in  contact  with  each  other  —  depending 
on  the  same  planks  for  protection  from  the  wind  and 
wave,  —  in  the  course  of  the  two  years  that  we  had 
been  upon  the  ocean,  warm  friendships  had  sprung 
up,  and  "shipmate"  was  only  another  name  for 
"brother."  This  accident  —  one  to  which  we  all  felt 
ourselves  liable  —  excited  expressions  of  feeling,  that 
one  would  scarcely  believe  could  emanate  from  the 
speakers:  men  in  our  line  of  life  seldom  making  an 
undue  display  of  emotion.  Every  good  quality  and 
trait  inherent  to  the  deceased  w^as  rehearsed ;  and 
in  conclusion,  all  hoped  that  poor  John  was  in  a 


AUCTION-SALE  OF  EFFECTS  OF  THE  DECEASED.      157 

better  home  above  ;  and,  if  any  one  on  board  our  ship 
had  a  prospect  of  a  bright  hereafter,  surely  he,  the 
least  offender  of  us  all  against  the  Divine  law,  would 
be  the  one. 

On  the  following  morning  we  ran  down  and  spoke 
the  Allen.  The}^  were  cutting  in  their  whale ;  and 
the  cheerful  note  of  their  merry  chaunt,  as  they 
worked  the  windlass,  contrasted  strongly  with  our 
own  bitter  feelings  and  heavy  hearts. 

The  captain  gave  directions  to  have  all  the  lost 
man's  property  gatliered  together,  which  was  done ; 
and,  a  few  days  after,  the  whole  ship's  company  was 
mustered  aft,  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  all  his  effects 
were  disposed  of  by  auction,  the  captain  acting  as 
auctioneer.  Every  one  bought  something  —  each 
wishing  to  secure  a  memento  of  the  deceased;  and 
as  the  bidding  was  spirited,  much  more  than  the 
intrinsic  value  was  realized  for  each  article.  This  is 
a  rule  of  the  sea,  but  whether  a  maritime  law  or 
not,  I  do  not  know :  the  money  produced  by  such 
sale  being  handed  over  to  the  friends  of  the  deceased, 
if  they  can  be  found  ;  but  if  unable  to  do  so,  it  is 
usually  given  to  the  Seamen's  Friend  Society. 

After  this  event,  we  remained  in  the  locality 
several  weeks.  Sometimes  a  boat  was  lowered,  and 
sent  into  one  of  the  bays  a  fishing,  which  always  re- 
turned with  a  number  of  the  finny  tribe  of  different 
varieties  —  cod,  trumpeter,  blue,  white,  and  red  fish. 
The  last  fish,  of  a  red  color  and  covered  with  fins, 
was  known  to  the  whalemen  on  the  coast  as  the 
devil-fish,  and  another  variety  is  known  as  the  groper. 
It  often  equals  the  porpoise  in  size.  All  these  fish 
are  excellent  eating,  and  are  eagerly  welcomed  by  a 
14 


IDO  SEVERAL   PECULIAR   VARIETIES    OF   FISH. 

person  who  for  mouths  has  had  no  fresh  provision. 
I  one  day  caught  a  fish  of  a  bright-red  color.  On 
hauling  him  up,  he  extended  three  feelers  from  each 
side  of  the  jaw,  and  two  beautiful  wings  from  his 
sides ;  these  wings  were  bordered  with  alternate 
stripes  of  red  and  blue,  that  rivalled  in  color  the 
tints  of  the  rainbow.  They  were  said  to  be  called 
the  garnet  by  the  natives.  The  wings  I  preserved. 
They  are  unlike  those  of  the  flying-fish,  being  cir- 
cular, and  much  thicker  and  stronger.  The  fish 
was  about  ^ve  inches  long. 

There  are  plenty  of  cray  or  craw  fish,  and  several 
varieties  of  eels,  in  these  bays.  The  latter  are  the 
most  disgusting  creatures  that  I  ever  saw.  On  being 
caught,  the}"  expel  from  their  loathsome  bodies  a 
substance  resembling  milk.  The  Mauriis  eat  them; 
and  when  we  were  in  Milford  Haven  Bay  the  schooner 
Eliza's  crew,  who  were  then  trying  out  a  sperm 
whale,  considered  them  as  a  delicacy,  with  no  other 
preparation  than  immersing  them  in  the  boiling-hot 
oil.  The  crayfish  belongs  to  the  lobster  family  —  its 
claws  are  somewhat  similar,  only  lacking  the  pincer- 
like  appendage.  It  is  of  a  bright-red  color,  and  is 
most  luxurious  eating.  It  is  plentiful,  and  easily 
caught  with  a  net,  or  hook  and  line. 

Whilst  in  these  bays  fishing,  the  fresh  green  look 
of  the  vegetation,  and  sweet  singing  of  the  birds, 
made  us  long  for  a  return  to  a  life  ashore.  The 
sailor,  if  compelled  to  remain  at  sea,  in  all  cases 
prefers  to  be  far  from  land,  with  nothing  to  meet  his 
gaze  but  sky  and  ocean  —  land  in  sight  continually 
recalling  home  memories,  long  dwelling  upon  which 
is   painful.     Another  reason,  too,  why  Jack  hates 


DESCRIPTION   OF   SHIPPING.  159 

land,  when  he  cannot  enjoy  a  ramble  upon  it  is, 
that  he  attributes  to  it,  and  not  without  reason,  either, 
a  miasmatic  influence ;  and,  whilst  in  its  vicinity, 
every  ache  or  pain  is  attributed  to  its  vicinage,  and 
he  consoles  himself  by  saying,  *'I  will  soon  be  all 
right,  when  we  leave  this  infernal  land  and  get 
outside." 

I  cannot  refrain  from  remarking  on  the  character 
of  the  shipping  on  this  ground.  At  this  time  there 
were  some  fifteen  vessels  cruising  within  an  area  of  a 
hundred  miles  —  three  of  us  Yankees,  nine  from 
Hobartown,  two  from  l^ew  Zealand,  and  a  brig  from 
Sydney.  At  daylight  all  might  be  seen  busily  en- 
gaged in  hoisting  their  topsails  and  spreading  their 
canvass ;  during  the  day  using  their  best  endeavors 
to  get  over  as  much  ground  as  possible.  At  sundown, 
sail  was  shortened  aboard  of  each.  The  schooner 
Otago,  at  the  sunset  hour,  in  fair  weather,  presented 
a  strange  appearance;  always  at  such  times  and  in 
such  cases,  taking  in  every  rag  and  laying  under 
bare  poles — the  captain  assigning  as  a  reason  that  it 
saved  his  sails.  This  craft  original  1}^  came  out  from 
New  London,  Connecticut,  as  a  tender  to  a  whaler; 
here  she  w^as  sold,  and  during  six  months  of  the 
year  was  employed  conveying  cattle  and  wool  to 
Sydney,  and  the  balance  in  whaling.  The  Eliza  was 
a  craft  of  much  more  aristocratic  pretensions ;  she 
was  a  neat  and  tidy  little  schooner,  and  had  been  ori- 
ginally constructed  as  a  yacht  for  Sir  John  Franklin, 
when  he  was  governor  of  Van  Diemen's  Land. 
After  the  daring  explorer  of  the  frozen  North  had 
removed  from  the  Australian  colonies,  the  Govern- 
ment employed  her  as  a  revenue  cutter ;  but  now  she 


160  DESCRIPTION   OF   SHIPPING. 

had  fallen  from  her  high  estate  and  was  employed  as 
a  blubber-hunter.  But  with  far  greater  claims  to  pre- 
tension, although  possessing  a  much  more  homely 
exterior,  the  old  Prince  Regent  pursued  her  course 
in  the  same  humble  pursuit ;  she  had  been  built  as  a 
yacht  for  George  IV.,  the  profligate,  who  for  years 
was  prince  regent  of  the  British  empire.  Unlike  her 
royal  master,  she  still  survives  with  sound  timbers, 
and  is  a  staunch  sea-worthy  ship,  though  of  a  rather 
outre  model.  Two  of  the  Hobartown  whalers  were 
clippers,  built  in  Baltimore;  on  one  of  them,  the 
Isabel,  I  saw  the  American  coat  of  arms  in  full 
emblazon.  These  clippers,  if  they  were  only  built 
stronger,  would  be  excellent  sperm  whalers  —  being 
small,  light,  good  sailers,  and  easy  to  work. 

Several  of  the  barques  on  the  ground  were  built 
in  Hobartown,  from  the  Hobartown  model ;  they  had 
long  heads  on  them,  but  their  sterns,  and  run  aft, 
were  of  a  fashion  of  fifty  years  since,  and,  although 
so  recently  built,  our  old  barkey  would  sail  away 
from  them  as  fast  as  the}'  could  come  on. 

From  this  time,  until  the  middle  of  May,  we 
remained  in  the  same  locality,  experiencing  a  suc- 
cession of  tremendous  gales,  from  the  north-east  and 
south-west,  attended  by  heavy  squalls  that  made  the 
old  ship  ring  again.  In  the  interval  between  their 
recurrence,  we  saw  sperm  whales  two  or  three  times ; 
on  one  occasion  getting  to  them  just  in  time  to  see 
the  barque  Runimede's  boats  lying  by  the  side  of  a 
dead  whale.  On  another,  we  lowered  away  and 
•arrived  at  the  scene  of  operation  in  season  to  see  the 
Sapphire's  boats  capture  four.  Our  mate  fastened  to 
a  whale  some  distance  from  any  of  her  boats,  but  it 


AMERICAN    IMPROVEMENTS.  161 

proved  to  be  one  that  was  already  wounded  by  them  ; 
so  nothing  was  left  for  us  but  to  cut  our  line.  The  irons 
that  our  boatsteerer  hove  into  the  whale  were  recovered 
when  they  cut  him  in.  AVith  these  irons  they  fastened 
to,  and  saved,  no  less  than  four  large  whales — a  fifth 
they  struck,  but  he  sounded  and  carried  off  all  their 
line.  The  irons  were  of  the  variety  known  as  the 
"toggel,"  and  are  an  American  improvement:  the 
captain  of  the  Sapphire  was  so  thoroughly  impressed 
with  their  value  that  he  repeatedly  solicited  our  cap- 
tain for  more  of  them.  Another  improvement  that 
the  American  whaleman  possesses,  is  the  iron  row- 
lock, in  which  the  oar  works  with  little  or  no  difficulty. 
Other  nations  use  the  primitive  thole-pin,  con- 
sisting of  pins  of  hard  wood  inserted  in  holes  bored 
in  the  boat's  gunwale — the  least  crabbing  of  the  oar 
being  destruction  to  them. 

These  colonial  gentlemen  are  fair  whalemen,  but 
do  not  possess  the  energetic,  go-ahead  spirit  of  their 
American  cotemporaries.  They  work  verj^  carefully, 
and  seldom  expose  their  boats  or  themselves  to  much 
danger;  for  instance,  they  never  sail  on  to  whales, 
always  taking  the  mast  down  when  arriving  in  their 
vicinity.  I  remember  hearing  the  captain  of  the 
ship  Pacific  remark  that  he  had  been  whaling,  man 
and  boy,  for  thirty-five  years,  during  which  time  he 
had  never  sailed  on  to  a  whale,  and  never  had  the 
boat  stove  in  which  he  was.  On  the  contrary, 
the  Yankee  whaleman,  with  or  without  sail,  danger 
or  no  danger,  is  bound  to  strike  the  whale,  if  possi- 
ble, and  for  this  reason  they  are  preferred,  even  in 
Hobartown,  "  because,"  to  use  their  own  expression, 
"they  will  risk  more  to  capture  whales."  Several 
14*  L 


162  MILFORD    HAVEN   BAY. 

of  the  captains  and  officers  of  these  ships  were 
Americans ;  and  great  inducements  are  held  out  by 
Hobartown  owners  in  the  whaling  trade,  to  induce 
Americans  to  embark  in  their  employ. 

On  the  17th  of  May,  the  weather  appearing 
threatening,  we  signalized  the  schooner  Eliza,  and 
under  the  pilotage  of  her  captain,  who  came  aboard 
of  us,  we  kept  off  for  Milford  Haven  Bay,  intending 
to  lay  there  during  the  continuance  of  the  gale,  and 
in  the  meantime  to  supply  ourselves  with  wood  and 
water,  quantities  of  which  can  be  had  ad  libitum  in 
its  vicinity.  After  beating  about  with  light  winds, 
and  considerable  towing  with  the  boats,  we  contrived 
to  drop  our  anchor  at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  in 
sixteen  fathoms  of  water,  about  a  ship's  length  from 
the  shore.  Lines  were  then  run  from  the  stern  and 
secured  to  the  rocks,  so  that  we  soon  had  her  snugly 
moored  stem  and  stern.  The  schooner  Eliza  was, 
latterly,  very  successful :  having  captured  two  whales, 
one  of  which  she  lost  through  stress  of  weather — 
the  other,  when  tried  out,  furnished  sufficient  oil  to 
fill  about  sixty  barrels,  and  her  captain  informed 
me  would  reimburse  the  owners  for  all  outlay  on  the 
vessel  —  provisions  being  very  cheap  in  this  part  of 
the  world.  Never  did  I  see  better  meat,  or  sweeter 
flour,  than  the  specimens  of  each  this  schooner  had 
aboard;  both  were  the  produce  of  E^ew  Zealand,  and 
the  meat,  having  been  but  a  short  time  salted,  was 
much  better  than  ours.  As  in  port  anybody  is  at 
liberty  to  board  a  whaler  and  get  his  dinner,  we  often 
availed  ourselves  of  the  privilege,  as  did  they  in 
boarding  us;  the  molasses  aboard  of  our  ship 
being  the   center  of  attraction   to   them ;   also  the 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   MAURIIS.  163 

biscuit,  which  to  them  is  a  rarity  —  they  only 
using  their  flour  baked  into  soft  bread.  All  lived 
alike,  fore  and  aft.  Little  discipline  prevailed ; 
the  captain  was  called  Tom,  and  the  mate  Bill. 
The  shipkeeper  and  steward  were  men  interested  in 
the  vessel,  both  old  En-glish  men-of-war's  men,  who 
had  earl}'  settled  on  the  island,  and  reared  families — 
having  married  native  women.  From  these  men  I 
learned  that  a  marriage  between  two  of  the  half-caste 
was  always  barren,  never  begetting  offspring ;  but  a 
half-caste  man  or  woman  intermarrying  with  the 
whites  or  native  New  Zealanders,  were  remarkable 
for  their  number  of  children.  I  was  much  pleased 
with  these  Mauriis;  they  were  intelligent,  courageous, 
and  sprightly.  Their  songs,  delivered  with  all  the 
gusto  of  a  half-civilized  nature,  possessed  great 
interest.  In  their  war  songs  they  become  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  their  music,  and  perform  most 
curious  antics,  attended  by  horrid  contortions  of 
features.  Their  love  songs,  too,  were  accompanied  by 
numerous  gestures,  one  of  them  taking  the  lead,  and 
the  others  joining  in  the  chorus.  These  love  songs 
were  said,  by  those  acquainted  with  their  language, 
to  consist  of  all  that  was  licentious  and  disirustingr  • 
but  to  us  who  did  not  understand  a  word  of  them,  it 
made  very  little  difference.  They  also  performed  a 
pantomime,  which,  from  its  ridiculousness,  excited 
our  risibilities  to  prolonged  laughter,  to  their  great 
satisfaction. 

The  half-caste  consider  themselves  a  peg  above  the 
native,  and  take  good  care  to  let  strangers  know  the 
distinction.     They  are  a  large,  well-built  race,  and 


164  GAME    OF   ALL-FOURS. 

make  excellent  oarsmen ;  they  are  mnch  addicted  to 
the  use  of  spirits;  they  lament  much  their  inability 
to  read  and  write,  stating,  in  palliation  of  their  igno- 
rance, that  when  they  were  children  there  were  no 
schools  where  they  could  receive  an  education,  but 
that  the  rising  generation,  by  the  exertions  of  the 
missionaries,  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  attending 
schools. 

From  us  these  people  obtained  tobacco,  and  cap- 
tain, mate,  and  crew  engaged  in  a  game  at  all-fours 
for  it.  They  played  good  humoredly,  but  appeared 
to  be  wholly  wrapt  up  in  the  game.  I  asked  the 
captain  how  he  managed  to  preserve  subordination 
where  he  allowed  so  much  familiarity.  He  was  a 
powerful,  brawny  figure,  and  a  smile  passed  over  his 
features  at  my  question ;  extending  his  bared  arm, 
corrugated  with  sinews,  he  said,  *'I  play  this  fellow 
right  and  left  amongst  them,  whenever  they  make 
too  much  noise."  The  English  part  of  the  vessel's 
crew  professed  great  contempt  for  these  savages,  as 
they  called  them ;  but  a  good  understanding  appeared 
to  exist  between  the  parties. 

On  the  morning  subsequent  to  mooring  our  ship, 
all  hands  were  called  at  daylight,  and  we  had  an 
opportunity  to  discern  the  features  and  characteristics 
of  the  harbor.  It  proved  to  be  a  snug,  but  not  a 
large  bay,  encased  by  mountains,  whose  caps  w^ere 
white  with  snow.  The  sides  of  these  cliffs  were 
covered  with  noble  trees  of  various  descriptions; 
principal  among  which  is  the  famed  iron-wood,  re- 
markable for  its  weight  and  durability.  Several 
species  of  pine  are  also  to  be  found.  Scarce  any 
beach   exists,  the  shores  being  covered  with  huge 


RAIN  —  RAINBOW.  165 

boulders  of  many  tons  weight,  evidently  displaced 
by  some  great  revulsion  of  nature.  Few  shells  of  any 
beauty  are  found  on  the  shore  —  the  mutton  fish, 
warrener,  and  limpet,  being  the  only  conchological 
varieties  that  I  saw. 

Whilst  here,  half-a-dozen  of  our  men  were  in  the 
forest  cutting  fire-wood,  while  others  were  engaged 
in  procuring  water.  ^N'othing  was  required  in  the 
latter  case  but  to  scoop  a  hole  in  the  pebbles  on  the 
beach,  and  allow  the  snow-water,  as  it  descended 
from  the  mountains,  to  run  into  it ;  then  bail  out  with 
buckets  and  fi^ll  casks.  ;N"either  was  there  any  trouble 
in  rafting  or  towing  it ;  our  contiguity  to  the  shore 
being  such  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  run  a  small 
tow-line  from  the  ship,  attach  it  to  the  raft,  and  haul 
it  alongside,  hand  over  hand.  We  also  broke  out 
our  meat  and  coopered  it,  and  then  our  hard  work 
w^as  finished. 

We  experienced  several  continuous  and  heavy  rain 
storms,  accompanied  by  violent  squalls;  as  these 
would  pass  over,  the  rainbow,  by  which  they  were 
always  followed,  reflecting  on  and  illuminating  the 
green  sides  and  white  caps  of  the  hills,  presented  to 
our  admiring  eyes,  a  grand,  imposing  and  beautiful 
sight.  I  know  of  nothing  that  I  ever  saw  that 
more  fully  impressed  my  mind  with  the  omnipo- 
tence of  the  Creator  than  did  this  splendid  work ; 
and  I  have  found  myself  again  and  again  aroused 
from  my  admiration  to  answ^er  the  self-imposed 
question,  "  Could  any  man,  after  gazing  upon  such 
an  appearance,  candidly  feel  himself  an  atheist;" 
and,  after  arguing  the  matter  pro  and  con,  could  find 
no  excuse  for  such  unbelief. 


166  FIVE    OF    THE   CREW   DESERT. 

It  is  usual  ill  port,  during  the  night,  to  stand  what 
is  called  the  "  anchor  watch,"  consisting  of  two  men ; 
the  members  of  the  crew,  fore  and  aft,  participating 
in  it.     In  this  port,  which  was  considered  so  out  of 
the  way  as  to  present  no  inducements  for  desertion, 
to  allow  the  officers  the  whole  of  the  night  undis- 
turbed, the  watches  were  all  imposed  upon  the  boat- 
steerers  and  foremast  hands.     On  the  night  of  the 
22d,  the  watches  were  set  as  usual.    Everything  was 
quiet   until  morning,  when  the  whole  of  us  were 
aroused  by  the  first   officer  awaking,  and   finding 
nobody  on  deck,  and  the  starboard  boat  gone,  which 
had   been   allowed  to  remain  alongside.     On  mus- 
tering  all   hands,  five   of  the   foremast  men  were 
discovered  to  be  amono^st  the  missincr.    Their  names 
were  Joseph  Riley,  of  Patterson,  New  Jersey ;  Charles 
W.  Baylis,  of  Rochester,  l^ew  York;  Harvey  W. 
Miller,  of  Weymark,  Weymouth  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;   John  Roberts,  an  Englishman,  and   David 
Jones,  a  Welshman.     The  three  former  had  sailed 
from  the  United  States  with  us ;  the  two  latter  were 
British   convicts  —  Roberts,   whom   we   shipped   in 
Vasse,  and  Jones,  who  had  joined  the  ship  at  King 
George's  Sound.    They  had  taken  the  boat,  furnished 
with  oars  and  sails,  and  all  the  other  furniture  belong- 
ing to  her;  also  a  tub  of  tow-line  and  the  ship's  spy- 
glass; and  from  the  appearance  of  our  bread  and 
harness  casks,  had  liberally  supplied  themselves  with 
provisions.  The  absence  of  any  officer  on  deck  aftbrded 
them  time  to  safely  convey  their  clothes  and  bedding 
off;  and  so  equipped,  they  left  us,  in  an  obscure  bay, 
hundreds  of  miles  from  any  settlement,  on  a  stormy 
coast,  in  an  open  whale-boat.    No  one  ever  expected 


KEDGE  ANCHOR  SUCCEEDS  IX  DESERTING.     1G7 

to  hear  auglit  of  them  afterwards ;  but  as  my  narra- 
tive progresses,  a  recountal  of  their  adventures  will 
be  elicited :  for  the  present  we  will  leave  them  and 
return  to  our  barque.  On  discovering  the  loss  of  his 
men  the  captain  stormed  ;  but  finding  that  the  whole 
procedure  had  been  carried  on  with  the  utmost 
secresy,  and  that  few,  if  any,  of  those  remaining, 
were  cognizant  of  more  than  the  mere  desertion  of 
the  men,  he  allowed  it  to  drop,  and  little  was  said 
about  them  thereafter,  until  circumstances  obtruded 
them  on  his  notice.  It  will  be  observed  that  Kedge 
Anchor  has  at  length  managed  to  get  away,  on  this, 
his  third  attempt,  having  endeavored  to  get  clear 
from  us  in  Vasse,  and  Balli,  and  how,  in  the  most 
unpromising  place  of  all,  has  succeeded.  He  was 
the  possessor  of  two  or  three  English  sovereigns ; 
and  this  circumstance  must  have  caused  the  others 
to  enlist  him  in  the  enterprize,  as  they  knew  his  use- 
lessness  too  well  to  count  on  his  being  of  service  to 
them. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  23d,  the  barques  Isabella 
and  Lady  Emma  anchored  in  the  bay,  and,  soon 
after,  the  schooner  Otago — making,  in  all,  five  of  us 
moored  in  this  shelter.  The  Otago  reported  having 
spoken  the  James  Allen.  She  had  taken  three  hun- 
dred barrels  of  oil,  including  the  whale  we  saw  her 
capture,  during  the  present  month.  The  captain  of 
the  Otago  also  reported  having  fallen  in  with  the 
lower  mast  of  a  vessel  of  about  three  hundred  tons, 
evidently  carried  away  in  a  gale  from  some  ship. 
They  managed  to  get  it  in  tow,  but  the  line  parting, 
they  took  no  further  trouble  with  it.  This  circum- 
stance  elicited   our  fears   of  a  terrible   misfortune 


168  A    SUNDAY    ON     BOARD    THE    KLIZA. 

to  one  of  tlie  whalers  on  the  ground,  and  whether 
American  or  English  we  were  unable  to  surmise. 
"VVe  have  never  to  this  time  been  able  to  discover  to 
wdiom  it  belonged,  though  it  certainly  had  not  be- 
longed to  any  one  of  the  whale-ships  we  had  been 
in  company  with,  as  we  saw  them  all  afterward. 

The  Lady  Emma,  a  few  days  since,  put  into  Open 
Bay,  where  three  of  her  men  deserted.  In  the  vici- 
nity of  this  bay  there  is  a  settlement  containing  eight 
Mauriis.  This  is  the  only  settlement  on  the  coast, 
from  Jacob's  River  to  Cook's  Straits  —  Milford  Haven 
being  no  exception  to  the  rule,  as  no  white  or  civil- 
ized natives  exist  in  its  whereabouts.  Some  of  the 
wild  natives  have  been  seen  here.  During  a  former 
voyage,  part  of  the  crew  of  the  barque  Runimede, 
whilst  cutting  w^ood,  were  driven  to  the  beach  by 
these  savages. 

The  next  day,  being  Sunday  and  so  stormy  that 
we  could  not  enjoy  ourselves  ashore,  a  number  of  us 
spent  it  aboard  the  Eliza.  We  were  the  more  easily 
induced  to  do  this  from  the  fact  of  her  having  a 
French  cook,  who  left  the  Alexander  at  Stewart's 
Island  and  joined  the  Eliza.  He  was  discharged  from 
the  Alexander,  and  the  oil  belonging  to  him  was 
rolled  ashore.  Here  he  professed  to  be  very  happy ; 
and,  as  he  was  thoroughly  master  of  his  business,  he 
was  much  esteemed  by  those  whom  he  catered  for. 
I  was  much  surprised  at  the  palatable,  and  even 
luxurious,  taste  of  the  salt-beef,  after  having  been 
manipulated  by  him,  compared  to  that  which  had 
undergone  the  same  operation  by  the  hands  of  our  own 
cook.  Although  I  may  have  been  prejudiced,  or  the 
superiority  of  the  viands  had  rendered  my  appetite 


AN   EXCURSION   UP   THE   RIVER.  169 

fastidious  on  that  particular  day,  yet  certainly,  the 
fare  was  such  as  not  to  have  been  laughed  at,  even 
at  the  table  of  a  first-class  hotel.  There  were  wild 
ducks,  wild  pigeons,  wood-hens,  noble  fish  from  the 
bay,  excellent  corned-beef,  and,  to  crown  all,  a  noble 
plum-duft";  and  we  did  good  justice  to  the  repast. 
At  supper  we  drank,  as  a  beverage,  a  decoction  of  a 
New  Zealand  plant,  which  is  used  throughout  the 
island  instead  of  tea.  It  possesses  an  aromatic  taste, 
and  the  little  I  partook  of  enlisted  me  in  its  favor; 
but  how  a  continued  use  of  it  would  answer,  I  am  at 
a  loss  to  say.  The  Frenchman  said  that  he  had  used 
it  for  several  months,  and  preferred  it,  for  his  own 
consumption,  to  tea  produced  in  China.  As  he  was 
a  Parisian,  and  a  restaurateur  into  the  bargain,  I  do 
not  see  that  I  could  quote  better  individual  au- 
thority. 

On  the  25th  we  lowered  away  two  boats,  and 
manned  them  with  the  starboard  watch,  bound  up 
the  river,  or  sound,  as  the  Mauriis  call  it  —  bent  on 
a  day's  recreation.  Guns,  ammunition,  and  fishing- 
tackle,  w^ere  provided  —  also  a  good  stock  of  eatables. 
After  ten  miles'  pulling,  we  arrived  at  the  head  of 
the  river,  where  we  landed,  and  built  a  fire.  Pre- 
vious to  our  trip  to  this  locality,  our  curiosity  had 
been  excited  by  the  description  of  a  falls,  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  account,  rivalled  Niagara  in  magni- 
tude. The  Mauriis  stated,  that  it  fell  from  a  height 
of  nine  hundred  feet,  in  an  immense  volume  ;  and  I 
fancied,  previous  to  having  seen  it,  that  I  should  have 
to  chronicle  in  my  log-book  the  existence  of  the 
greatest  falls  in  the  world  in  this  out-of-the-way 
corner.  I  went,  and  saw  it.  Its  height  was  about 
15 


170  DUCKS,    PIGEONS,    AND   WOODHENS. 

three  hundred  feet  —  it  first  falling  from  the  summit 
of  a  high  mount  into  a  basin  about  a  hundred  feet 
below,  and  then  descending  into  the  river.  Its  ap- 
pearance was  handsome  ;  but,  having  been  prepared 
from  hearsay  to  see  something  momentous,  I  must 
confess  that  I  was  disappointed,  and  under  the  influ- 
ence of  chagrin  did  not  appreciate  it  as  fully  as  it 
deserved.  On  our  way  up  the  river  we  saw  numer- 
ous minor  falls,  descending  hundreds  of  feet  from 
the  summits  of  the  clifis.  The  river  was  alive  with 
porpoises  and  cowfish;  whilst  ducks,  gulls,  and 
pigeons,  skimmed  over  its  surface.  Those  of  the 
party  who  were  provided  with  fire-arms  penetrated 
into  the  bush.  Soon  the  crack  of  their  pieces  an- 
nounced their  success  in  finding  game.  As  the  sun 
indicated  the  hour  of  noon,  one  by  one  they  strag- 
gled in  to  the  fire,  more  or  less  successful,  according 
to  their  expertness  in  handling  their  guns.  Their 
game  comprised  ducks,  pigeons,  and  woodhens,  be- 
sides several  varieties  we  knew  no  name  for.  The 
ducks  were  about  of  the  same  size  and  appearance 
as  the  wild  ducks  of  the  l^orthern  States.  The 
pigeons  were  like  our  wild  pigeons.  The  woodhens 
resemble  in  appearance  a  pullet  of  the  common  barn- 
yard breed.  They  do  not  fly,  but  run  with  excessive 
swiftness,  dodging  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  in  a 
manner  to  puzzle  any  one.  They  are  attracted  by 
fire,  and  a  number  of  them  came  around  ours.  If 
not  startled,  they  displayed  little  fear,  approaching 
within  a  short  distance  of  us  with  the  utmost  indiffer- 
ence. These  birds  can  be  easily  domesticated ;  and 
aboard  the  schooner  they  had  several  running  about 
in  their  hold,  in  company  with  other  fowls.     All  the 


LEFT   ON   AN    ISLAND   WITHOUT   WATER.  171 

birds  mentioned,  when  dressed  and  cooked,  were 
palatable  and  appetizing. 

Whilst  on  this  island  myself  and  another  were 
left  ashore,  the  rest  having  gone  to  the  main  with  the 
boats.  Through  an  oversight,  they  took  the  water- keg 
along  with  them,  leaving  us  unprovided  with  water. 
We  immediately  searched  for  a  spring,  or  some  other 
depository  of  the  priceless  liquid,  but  it  was  in  vain. 
As  we  had  but  a  short  time  before  been  freely  eating 
of  salt  junk,  our  thirst  became  intolerable,  so  that  we 
even  went  so  far  as  to  drink  of  the  water  of  the  river, 
which  was  salt  and  brackish.  After  we  had  thus 
suffered  for  several  hours,  one  of  the  boats  returned, 
and  supplied  onr  want,  ^ever  before  in  my  life  did  I 
taste  so  grateful  and  sweet  a  draught  as  I  imbibed  at 
that  time  from  the  most  ordinary  of  boat-piggins.  This 
was  the  nearest  approach  to  deprivation  of  water  for 
any  length  of  time  that  I  ever  experienced.  If  any 
person  should  wish  to  be  pestered  with  a  gnawing, 
unquenched  thirst,  let  him  follow  our  example  by 
eating  about  a  pound  of  salt  meat,  and  then  sitting 
for  hours  on  an  island  where  no  water  is  to  be 
found,  except  such  as  will  have  a  tendency  to  aggra- 
vate his  thirst. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  English  ships,  our  nights 
were  passed  in  an  excess  of  mirth.  The  rainy  weather 
preventing  any  amount  of  work  being  performed 
during  daytime,  their  listlesslj^  lolling  about  the  ship 
made  the  men  feel  prime  for  sport  at  night ;  and  as  none 
of  our  ship's  company,  since  the  desertion  of  our  men, 
were  allowed  to  leave  her  after  twilight,  by  common 
consent  our  barque  became  the  rendezvous  for  all; 
so  that,  about  half  an  hour  after  supper,  whole  boats' 


172  DIVERTISSEMENTS   AT   NIGHT. 


crews  would  come  aboard.  One  night  I  counted 
seventy  men  in  our  forecastle.  Each  vessel  contri- 
buted its  singers,  and  the  choral  performances  w^ere 
really  a  diverting  medley.  The  cook  of  the  schooner, 
being  French,  sang  the  Marseillaise  for  us ;  a  Ger- 
man sang  the  Fatherland ;  a  Portuguese,  I  know  not 
what,  but,  like  all  the  others,  he  was  loudly  ap- 
plauded for  his  performance ;  the  Mauriis,  Sandwich 
and  IN'avigators'  Islanders,  all  sang  their  respective 
songs;  whilst  English,  Irish,  Scotch,  and  Americans, 
also  gave  vent  to  their  national  melodies — Rule  Bri- 
tannia, Erin  go  Bragh,  Scots  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace 
bled,  and  the  Star-spangled  Banner,  or  Hail  Colum- 
bia, followed  each  other — one  song  being  as  good 
as  another,  so  that  it  had  a  tune  to  it.  Amongst  the 
Lady  Emma's  crew  were  four  excellent  singers,  who 
had  practised  together,  and  performed  very  credit- 
ably; so  that  w^e  were  not  without  good  singers. 
Instead  of  spirituous  drink,  we  indulged  in  a  beve- 
rage, known  as  switchell,  concocted  of  molasses, 
vinegar,  and  water,  with  the  addition  of  a  little  ground 
ginger.  At  a  late  hour  we  separated,  without  being 
muddled,  as  is  usual  in  many,  in  fact  most,  assem- 
blages of  the  like  character  amongst  people  who  pro- 
fess more  morality  than  the  sailor.  On  these  occa- 
sions all  was  mirth  and  jollification :  discipline,  for 
the  time-being,  w^as  set  aside,  and  the  utmost  good- 
feeling  pervaded  the  company. 

On  the  last  Sunday  we  lay  in  the  haven,  all  hands 
from  each  ship  went  ashore,  numbering  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty  souls.  We  provided  ourselves 
from  our  ship  with  potatoes,  biscuit,  a  piece  of  salt 
pork,  and  a  saucepan  filled  with  molasses.   We  soon 


THE  MUTTON-FISH,  WARREXER,  AND  LIMPET.      173 

had  a  rousing  fire  going;  and  the  Mauriis  were  im- 
mediately on  the  qui  Vive  for  the  collecting  of  mutton- 
fish,  warreners,  and  limpets,  which  they  quickly  de- 
tected, although  to  our  unpractised  eyes  tliere  was 
no  appearance  of  shellfish.  These  creatures  they 
detached  from  the  rocks,  not  without  exerting  con- 
siderable force,  as  they  adhere  with  tenacity.  The 
mutton-fish  is  quite  large,  weighing  from  four  to 
eight  ounces.  The  warrener  is  smaller,  and  inhabits 
a  cone-shaped  shell.  The  shell  of  the  mutton-fish^ 
which  is  similar  in  shape  to  that  of  the  clam,  is 
single,  having  a  number  of  holes  in  the  anterior  part, 
through  which  the  animal  breathes  ;  the  lower  part  of 
its  body  presenting  the  appearance  of  a  large  leathern 
sucker.  The  limpet  has  a  three-sided  shell,  and  is 
much  smaller  than  either  of  the  others.  All  these 
shells  are  of  an  inferior  pearl;  useless,  on  account  of 
its  frangible  construction,  for  manfacturing  any  of  the 
various  articles  for  which  the  true  pearl  shell  is  used. 
These  shellfish,  after  being  captured,  are  torn  by  the 
natives  from  their  habitations,  and  eaten,  alive  and 
kicking,  with  apparent  epicurean  relish.  This  prac- 
tise of  devouring  the  struggling  animal,  at  first, 
seemed  revolting  to  me;  but  upon  reflection  I  re- 
membered the  cool  indifference  with  which  we  dis- 
pose of  the  bivalves,  which  possess  feeling  equally 
wath  the  mutton-fish,  but  have  not  the  same  energetic 
way  of  displaying  it. 

One  of  our  party  volunteering  to  act  as  cook,  after 
sufficient  of  these  fish  were  procured  and  deprived 
of  their  shells,  contrived  to  make  us  an  excellent 
dinner — we  doing  justice  to  a  chowder  prepared  from 
these  creatures,  beside  having  them  raw,  roasted, 
15* 


174  GREEN   STONE. 

and  in  the  sLell.  The  molasses  was  converted  into 
candy  and  handed  over  to  the  Mauriis,  who,  until  they 
had  disposed  of  it  within  their  capacious  maws,  had 
neither  eyes  nor  ears  for  anything  else.  Our  dinner 
ended,  we  wended  our  way  up  the  bay.  This  was  a 
task  of  no  little  difficulty,  the  beach  being  covered 
with  huge  masses  of  granite,  worn  smooth  by  the 
percolation  of  water;  these  were  to  be  ascended, 
descended,  and  occasionally  circumnavigated,  so  that 
several  hours  were  devoted  to  perambulating  but  a 
short  distance.  Our  object  was  to  collect  specimens 
of  the  green  stone,  which  is  washed  down  from  the 
mountains,  and,  by  the  continual  friction  of  the  water, 
assumes  a  circular  and  polished  shape.  This  stone 
is  used  for  ornamental  purposes,  in  the  decoration 
of  their  persons,  by  the  Chinese  and  Mauriis  —  they 
using  it  for  ear-rings,  necklaces,  and  nose  pendants. 
Half  way  up  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain  that 
frowns  above  our  barque,  as  she  lies  at  anchor,  there 
is  a  quarry  of  this  substance,  which  I  should  venture 
to  call  serpentine,  but  for  its  extreme  obtusity.  I 
said  that  there  was  a  quarry,  but  I  have  only  the 
authority  of  the  Mauriis  for  my  assertion ;  I  went  to 
the  spot,  and,  from  observation,  decided  that  if  it 
had  been  worked,  it  must  have  been  at  some  time 
beyond  the  recollection  of  any  of  my  informants. 
This  bay,  twenty  years  ago,  was  the  rendezvous  of  a 
sealing  party,  who  successfully  operated  in  their 
business,  living  ashore  until  the  rainy  season  ap- 
proached, when  they  boarded  their  crafts  and  sailed 
for  home.  A  whaling  company,  also,  had  a  try- 
w^orks  ashore,  where  many  a  fine  jacket  of  blubber 
has  been  converted  into  oil;   as  these  men  might 


TAME   BIRDS.  175 

have,  occasionally,  found  time  hanging  heavy  on  their 
hands,  to  thcni  may  be  attributed  the  working  of  the 
mountain,  carrying  such  specimens  as  they  pleased 
to  their  homes,  for  gifts  or  sale  to  the  various  tribes 
along  the  coast.  The  seals  becoming  scarcer  every 
year,  and  the  increase  of  whale-ships  rendering  the 
capture  of  the  fish  less  a  matter  of  certainty  than 
formerly,  the  bay  fisheries  were  deserted,  and  ever 
since  it  has  been  resigned  to  its  original  inhabitants, 
except  when  some  old  and  barnacled  whale-ship 
touches  at  it,  or  the  schooners  of  the  Maurii  run  iu 
for  protection  from  the  weather.  Nothing  illustrated 
to  me  the  slight  influence  exerted  by  man  here,  more 
strongl}^,  than  the  fact  of  the  smaller  birds  (those, 
from  their  size,  too  insignificant  for  the  attention 
of  the  gunner),  viewing  man  without  the  slightest 
fear,  flying  around  and  around  one,  and  alighting  on 
the  person,  as  if  desirous  of  forming  an  acquaint- 
anc-e ;  having  had  no  experience  of  the  refinement 
of  cruelty  inherent  to  man,  they  do  not  fear  him.  I 
do  not  wonder  at  the  sealers  and  whalemen  deserting 
this  vicinity  when  they  found  that  their  game  had 
left,  as  there  is  nothing  either  inviting  or  enticing  to 
induce  a  stay  on  these  shores.  The  ground  can 
never  be  made  serviceable  for  cultivation,  as  it  is 
broken  and  uneven  to  an  extreme  degree;  scarcely  a 
foot  square  can  be  found  without  a  variation  in  the 
grade  of  its  surface. 

We  remained  in  this  bay  seventeen  days,  every 
succeeding  twenty-four  hours  seeing  some  new 
creature,  or  meeting  with  some  novel  adventure.  One 
day  a  gust  of  wind  would  come  rushing  down  the 
mountains,  and  carry  away  our  stern  moorings,  from 


176  LEAVE   MILFORD   HAVEN   BAT. 

the  intense  strain  thrown  upon  tliem  by  the  ship's 
swinging.  Another  day  all  were  interested  by  the 
capture  of  a  female  shark,  from  whose  body  were 
taken  seventeen  small  sharks.  These  creatures  were 
put  in  the  deck  tub,  where  they  swam  around  with 
surprising  celerity.  They  were  each  about  six  inches 
long,  w^ithout  teeth,  but  betraying  their  origin  by 
snapping  at  anything  they  could  reach  with  their 
toothless  gums. 

I  cannot  take  leave  of  Milford  Haven  Bay  without 
stating  my  conviction  of  its  superiority  to  any  port 
that  I  had  previouslj^  visited,  with  the  exception  of 
Balli.  This  was  the  opinion  of  all,  and  often  after- 
w^ards,  when  we  w^ere  on  the  eve  of  making  an  insig- 
nificant port  on  the  Australian  c^ast,  have  I  heard  it 
said,  "I  wish  we  were  going  ashore  in  Milford 
Haven  ;  because  there  you  can  see  something."  You 
can  procure  no  liquor  there,  whilst  here  nothing  new 
is  to  be  seen,  and  rum  stares  you  in  the  face  at  every 
footstep. 

On  the  2d  of  June  the  Isabella  hove  up  her  anchor 
and  stood  out  of  the  bay.  She  soon  lost  the  breeze, 
and  was  endangered  by  her  proximity  to  some  reefs 
at  the  mouth ;  but  a  few  hours  subsequently  she  was 
enabled  to  resume  her  course.  We,  and  the  rest  of 
the  shipping,  taking  advantage  of  the  same  breeze, 
squared  our  yards,  and  were  soon  merrily-  bowling 
out  to  sea,  far  from  the  abode  of  sand  flies,  and 
mosquitoes,  which  had  no  mercy  on  us  wdiilst  in  the 
bay. 


UNSTTCOESSFUL   CHASE.  177 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

On  the  7th,  after  having,  during  the  preceding 
week,  seen  and  lowered  for  whales  several  times,  our 
masthead'sman  sung  out  that  the  James  Allen's 
boats  were  whaling.  She  was  some  distance  from 
us ;  but  we  lowered  away,  and  arrived  in  time 
to  find  they  had  turned  up  a  large  whale.  This  was 
the  fi.fth  she  had  taken  within  the  past  eight  weeks, 
making  her  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  barrels 
of  oil.  Our  boats  returned  to  the  ship  empty  handed ; 
and,  as  is  usual  when  another  ship  has  been  success- 
ful, we  all  indulged  in  a  regular  growl  at  the  hardness 
of  our  luck,  complaining  that  we  could  capture 
nothing,  wliilst  others  were  filling  their  ships.  But, 
to  view  the  matter  impartially,  we  were  having 
returned  to  us  a  Roland  for  the  Oliver  we  presented 
to  them  whilst  on  the  Shark's  Bay  Ground ;  in  that 
vicinity  the  success  being  all  on  our  side.  The  next 
day,  as  if  our  bearishness  had  been  productive  of 
good  efl:ect,  at  daylight  we  sighted  sperm  whales. 
We  lowered  away  three  boats ;  the  desertion  of  our 
men  in  the  bay,  rendering  it  impossible  for  us  to 
lower  four  boats  and  leave  a  sufiicient  number  aboard 
to  work  the  ship  in  case  of  need.  Directly  after  lower- 
ing, the  first  and  third  mates  struck  large  whales ; 
after  remaining  fast  for  a  short  time,  the  irons 
belonging  to  the  larboard  boat  drew — the  boatsteerer 

M 


178  A   LARGE    WHALE    CAPTURED. 

had  had  a  long  dart,  and  struck  the  fish  in  his  small, 
where  there  was  not  sufficient  hluhber  for  the  iron 
to  take  firm  hold.  The  other  fish,  to  which  the  star- 
board boat  was  attached,  was  going  at  the  rate  of  I 
do  not  know  how  many  knots  an  hour,  breaching, 
curvetting  —  now  with  his  head  out  of  wat^r,  and, 
again,  with  his  flukes  reared  high  in  the  air,  present- 
ing all  sorts  of  resistance  that  characterize  the  right 
or  sperm  whale  —  snapping  his  huge  jaws  together, 
and  lashing  the  water,  left  and  right,  with  his  flukes. 
For  a  time  he  kept  running  along  at  a  rate  that 
deterred  the  other  boats  from  approaching  him ;  but, 
finally,  the  chief  mate  managed  to  get  a  line  from 
the  bow  boat,  which  was  taken  in  tow.  The  whale 
continued  running  for  some  time  after;  when  he 
halted  for  a  moment,  the  mate,  watching  his  oppor- 
tunity, hauled  his  boat  on  to  him,  and,  with  a  well- 
aimed  lance,  stopped  his  running  forever.  We  soon 
afterwards  got  him  alongside.  He  was  a  noble  speci- 
men of  the  cachalot,  exceeding  in  size  any  one  we 
had  previously  taken.  On  account  of  the  heavy 
weather  incident  to  this  coast,  we  took  time  by  the 
forelock,  and  cut  him  in  that  same  night.  It  was 
cahn  and  the  moon  was  at  its  full,  whilst  scarcely  a 
ripple  disturbed  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  so  that  we 
had  an  excellent  time.  At  midnight  nearly  all  was 
on  deck.  The  following  morning  we  hove  in  the 
junk,  and  bailed  the  case  —  the  immense  weight  of 
the  latter  preventing  us  from  hoisting  it  aboard. 
This  whale  yielded  us  one  hundred  and  ten  barrels 
of  oil. 

It  will  be  seen  that  whales  are  plenty  ofi*  the  coast 
of  JSTew  Zealand,  and  the  query  may  be  raised,  why 


A   FISH-STORY.  179 

are  not  more  captured  ?  But  seeing  whales  is  not 
taking  them,  and  killing  them  is  not  securing  them; 
as  may  be  exemplified  by  the  case  of  the  Prince  Re- 
gent :  whilst  near  us,  she  captured  two  large  whales, 
but  lost  them  both  from  the  severity  of  the  weather. 
The  Flying  Childers,  too,  lost  the  greater  part  of 
another.  The  James  Allen,  however,  was  more  for- 
tunate. One  day,  after  having  by  the  most  strenu- 
ous exertions  succeeded  in  getting  in  a  whale  which 
they  had  taken  the  previous  day,  sperm  whales  came 
up  close  to  the  ship.  The  mate  wanted  to  lower ; 
but  the  captain,  deeming  the  weather  so  boisterous 
as  to  make  such  a  proceeding  injudicious,  refused 
his  consent.  The  mate  then  went  below,  charged 
his  gun,  and  fired  a  bomb-lance  into  the  whale  with 
such  eftect,  that  on  rising  again  he  discharged  blood 
from  his  spout-holes,  appeared  bewildered,  and  at- 
tempted to  grasp  the  sides  of  the  ship  with  his  jaws. 
By  this  time  all  hands  were  thoroughly  excited ;  and 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  although  the  experiment 
was  a  hazardous  one,  a  boat  was  lowered  away,  which, 
though  stoven  by  coming  into  contact  with  the  fish, 
yet  managed  to  save  him. 

I  will  here  take  occasion  to  relate  another  fish- 
story,  which  emanated  from  the  James  Allen.  Her 
boats  had  been  down  for  several  hours,  and  when 
lying  still,  awaiting  the  re-appearance  of  a  school  of 
sperm  whales  that  had  sounded,  a  strange  fish,  in 
size  between  the  grampus  and  whale,  rushed  by 
them  with  open  jaws.  He  kept  on  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, then  about-ship,  and  returned.  Both  jaws 
were  furnished  with  sharp,  wicked-looking  grinders. 
Deeming  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor,  they 


180  A  BOAT   AND   CREW   LOST   IN  A  FOG. 

gave  his  fisbsliip  a  wide  berth  He  did  not,  they 
said,  appear  to  be  in  pursuit  of  them,  but  kept  on  his 
way,  unmolesting,  and  unmolested. 

On  the  25th  we  lowered  for  blackfish,  and  cap- 
tured six,  which  yielded  us  ten  barrels  of  oil.  These 
fish,  like  the  whales  on  this  coast,  are  fatter  than 
they  are  elsewhere,  and  average  larger.  Two  days 
afterwards  we  gammoned  with  the  barque  Emily 
Downing,  of  Hobartown.  She  reported,  that  on  the 
day  we  were  blackfishing  she  had  sighted  two  schools 
of  sperm  whales.  Swinging  only  three  boats,  the 
captain  and  second  mate  went  in  pursuit  of  one 
school,  and  the  mate  of  the  other.  The  last  seen 
of  the  mate's  boat  he  was  close  to  the  whales,  and 
his  boatsteerer  standing  up,  preparatory  to  darting, 
when  a  thick  fog  enveloped  everything.  The  two 
boats  in  company  proceeded  to  regain  the  ship,  which 
they  did  with  much  difficulty ;  and  had  not  those  on 
board  kept  up  a  continual  ringing  of  their  ship's 
bell  to  guide  them,  the  probabilities  are,  that  they 
would  have  fared  no  better  than  the  mate  and  his 
crew,  who  had  neither  been  seen  nor  heard  of  since. 
Conjectures  were  rife  as  to  their  probable  fate  :  some 
surmising  that  the  boat  had  been  stoven,  and  all 
hands  lost ;  others  thought  that,  as  the  mate  was  a 
prudent  man,  of  much  experience,  and  well  knew  the 
locality  of  the  land,  he  would  most  likely  direct  his 
boat  straightway  to  it,  and  lose  no  time  in  searching 
for  their  ship.  The  latter  were  right,  as  was  proved 
on  the  30th,  when  the  Downing  and  we  were  in 
company,  lying  under  short  sail,  —  a  fresh  breeze 
blowing,  with  a  heavy  sea  in  attendance  —  our  mast- 
headsman  apprised  us,  that  there  were  several  sails 


RETURN   AND   ACCOUNT    OF   THE   LOST   CREW.      181 

ofFoiir  weather-beam,  squared  in,  and  standing  directly 
for  us  —  coming  down  before  the  half  gale  like  race- 
horses. We  at  first  thought  that  they  were  whaling ; 
but  as  they  neared  us,  and  we  saw  that  they  all  had 
their  colors  flying,  we  at  once  suspected  the  true 
reason  for  their  manoeuvring.  In  a  short  time,  the 
barque  Isabella  ran  across  our  stern,  spoke  us,  and 
informed  us  of  the  safety  of  the  missing  ones ;  and 
that  all,  though  weak  and  exhausted,  were  as  well 
as  circumstances  would  permit.  This  was  glorious 
news,  and  was  received  with  hearty  cheers.  Later 
in  the  afternoon  we  learned  that  the  poor  fellows 
had  been  five  days  in  their  boat,  wdth  nothing  to  eat, 
except  half-a-dozen  biscuits,  an  albatross  that  they 
had  killed  by  darting  a  lance  into  it,  and  a  piece  of 
squid  that  they  managed  to  pick  up.  The  latter,  they 
said,  was  not  very  recent ;  but,  in  their  necessity,  it 
was  to  them  tall  eating,  and  they  were  disposed  to 
grumble  at  the  quantity,  rather  than  the  quality  of 
their  food.  They  said  that  they  had  made  for  the 
land  immediately  on  finding  that  they  had  lost  their 
ship,  but  had  not  succeeded  in  reaching  it  until  Sun- 
day. As  they  approached  it,  they  fortunately  dis- 
covered the  ship  James  Allen  close-to.  They  made 
for  her — told  their  story — were  taken  on  board,  and 
everything  that  could  be  aflforded  for  their  comfort 
was  plentifully  supplied  to  them.  They  were  much 
emaciated  by  their  long  fast  and  exposure ;  but  under 
the  genial  influence  of  good  victuals  and  their  pre- 
sent position,  they  were  gradually  recovering  their 
wonted  hardy  condition.  The  James  Allen,  being 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days  bound  ofl"  the  ground  to 
Ilobartown,  handed  over  the  missing  ones  to  the 
16 


182  THE    SHIP    GCETHE   AND   HER   CAEGO. 

barque  Isabella,  who  placed  them  aboard  their  own 
vessel.  Their  shipmates  —  as  did  all  the  members  of 
the  fleet  —  expressed  the  greatest  joy  and  satisfaction 
at  the  recovery  of  these  poor  fellows ;  for  we  could 
all  sympathize  with  them  in  their  forlorn  situation, 
inasmuch  as  we  w^ere  at  any  time  liable  to  meet 
w^ith  a  like  accident  whilst  engaged  in  our  present 
pursuit. 

Among  the  vessels  that  ran  down  to  us  was  the 
ship  Goethe,  of  Bremen,  Captain  Austin.  This  w^as 
the  first  German  whaler  that  we  had  seen  during  our 
voyage.  She  had  been  cruising  for  right  whales  off 
the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and  Desolation,  and  had  taken 
nine  hundred  barrels  of  oil  —  two  hundred  of  which 
she  disposed  of  in  Hobartown.  In  that  port,  which 
she  had  recently  left,  she  lost  a  number  of  her  men 
by  desertion.  Her  captain,  oflicers,  and  three- fourths 
of  her  boatsteerers,  w^ere  Americans ;  and,  although 
most  of  her  foremastmen  were  Germans,  all  duty 
was  carried  on  in  English.  She  is  a  Bremen-built 
ship,  of  about  six  hundred  tons,  and  well-looking  — 
originally  a  packet  between  Bremen  and  E"ew  York, 
from  which  line  of  trade  she  was  not  removed  any 
too  soon,  for  she  is  the  dullest  sailer  I  ever  saw.  She 
carried  (independent  of  her  whaling-tackle,  which 
was  American,)  an  assorted  cargo  of  German  fancy- 
goods —  accordeons,  flutinas,  drums,  violins,  flutes, 
&c.  — also  tobacco  and  schnapps;  which  she  disposed 
of,  either  in  the  various  ports  she  touched  at,  or  to 
the  ships  she  met  w^ith  in  want  of  such  articles ;  and 
as  there  is  no  duty  on  the  high  seas  upon  these  goods, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  a  considerable  amount  will  be 
realized  by  her  owners. 


DEPARTURE   FROM    NEW   ZEALAND.  183 

From  this  date  until  the  11th  of  July  we  experi- 
enced a  succession  of  heavy  gales,  with  a  very  slight 
proportion  of  moderate  weather ;  and  we  observed 
that  the  squid  was  floating  on  the  surface  in  great 
quantities.  The  entire  absence  of  whales  and  black- 
fish  caused  us  to  conclude  that  some  disease  had 
affected  the  squid,  causing  it  to  die  and  appear  on 
the  surface,  and  also  rendering  it  unpalatable  to  the 
fish.  Deeming  it  of  little  use  to  remain  longer,  we 
bade  adieu  to  Kew  Zealand;  and,  with  square  yards 
and  a  fair,  though  light  wind,  we  stood  away  from 
it.  Its  high  cliifs  were  discernable  the  next  day, 
when  by  computation  we  were  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  distant.  And  now%  that  we  had  left  its 
snow-capped  mountains,  its  heavy  gales,  dense  fogs, 
and  cold,  inhospitable  climate,  behind  us,  w^e  rejoiced 
in  the  prospect  of  warmer  and  pleasanter  cruising- 
grounds;  leaving  no  regrets,  but  all  glad  to  get  away : 
the  four  months  w^e  had  passed  off  its  shores  being 
a  series  of  unpleasant  days,  that  would  have  dissatis- 
fied less  mercurial  persons  than  sailors. 

On  account  of  the  prevalent  westerly  winds,  we 
were  forced  to  run  several  degrees  to  the  northward. 
On  our  passage  to  Hobartown  we  crossed  the  middle 
ground  (which  is  midway  between  ITew  Zealand  and 
New  Holland).  This  is  a  famous  ground  for  sperm 
whales,  and  did  not,  in  this  case,  belie  its  reputation — 
we  seeing  a  school,  whilst  crossing  it.  We  lowered 
for,  but  scared  them,  much  to  our  discontent.  "We 
made  no  stay  here,  but  steered  directly  for  Van 
Dieman's  Land ;  and  on  the  21st  w^ere  becalmed  in 
sight  of  it.  The  next  evening  we  took  a  pilot 
aboard,  and  the  following  morning  passed  the  Iron 


184  AGRICULTURISTS. 

Pot  light,  and  entered  the  Derwent  river.  This  is  a 
noble  stream,  two  and  a  half  miles  wide,  and  naviga- 
ble for  one  hundred.  The  country  on  both  sides  of 
the  river  appeared  fertile,  and  it  being  the  proper 
season  of  the  year,  in  this  latitude,  for  the  husband- 
man to  break  the  ground  and  plant  his  seeds,  the 
agriculturists  of  the  section  were  to  be  seen  intent 
on  such  employment.  Some  of  our  crew,  whilst 
closely  watching  these  busy  laborers,  thought  of  their 
earlier  youth,  when,  like  them,  they  followed  a  kind 
father  or  elder  brother  in  their  occupations  around 
their  farms  at  home,  and  on  contrasting  their  present 
rough  and  boisterous  calling  with  the  more  peaceful 
and  quiet  one  they  were  formerly  engaged  in,  they 
were  rather  disposed  to  think  the  farmer  had  the  best 
of  it ;  and  several  expressed  a  willingness  to  exchange 
conditions  with  them.  They  may  have  been  sincere, 
but  I  doubt  it;  as  those  who  have  been  employed  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  after  once  becoming  identified 
with  whaling  by  the  performance  of  a  voyage, 
although  they  may  inveigh  against  its  hardships 
and  discomforts,  rarely  fail  to  go  again.  Why 
this  is;  is  easily  deduced.  In  the  first  place,  in  their 
old  calling,  there  is  too  much  work  for  them  after 
leading  the  lazy,  rollicking  sailor's  life  aboard  a 
whaleship,  where  the  regulations  of  the  service  allow 
him  four  or  &ve  hours  sleep  (without  whales  are  in 
sight)  in  the  daytime.  A  man  has  little  inclina- 
tion to  labor  from  sun  to  sun.  Again,  in  rural 
localities,  there  is  a  degree  of  wonder  and  interest 
attaching  to  a  sailor,  that  makes  him  feel  flattered 
by  the  special  attention  displayed  towards  him ;  and, 
after  spinning  all  his  marvellous  yarns  to  an  admiring 


PROSTITUTES.  185 

audience,  he  feels  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  keep  up 
the  character  by  again  embarking,  with  the  prospect 
of  returning  in  the  possession  of  new  stories  and 
songs. 

Going  up  the  Derwent  we  saw  many  fine  farms, 
with  neat  and  commodious  tenements  upon  them. 
The  river  itself  was  studded  by  small  craft,  engaged 
in  carrying  produce  to  the  city  of  Hobartown.  A 
part  of  them  possess  the  curious  cognomen  of  "  she 
oakers  ;"  these  are  a  distinctive  class  from  the  others, 
and  are  employed  in  the  conveyance  of  the  she  oak, 
prepared  for  fuel,  to  market.  On  nearing  the  town, 
we  discovered  the  James  Allen  at  anchor,  and  found, 
beside  her,  twenty  or  thirty  vessels  —  all  sailing 
under  the  English  flag,  except  a  Dutch  brig,  and  we 
two  Yankees.  At  3  o'clock  P.  M.  we  came  to  anchor 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  town,  or  rather  the 
city. 

'No  sooner  was  our  ground-tackle  down  than  boats 
were  alongside  containing  prostitutes,  who  here,  as 
elsewhere,  claim  Jack  Tar  as  their  especial  property. 
They  boarded  us,  extended  invitations  to  all,  when 
they  came  ashore,  to  call  upon  them ;  and  with  the 
most  unblushing  assurance,  indulged  in  libidinous 
promises  of  the  advantages  possessed  by  their  estab- 
lishments over  all  others,  and  vaunting  their  superi- 
ority over  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  city.  Some 
of  these  frail  ones  delighted  in  most  euphonious 
names,  one  was  Double-Jointed  Polly,  another,  Slip- 
pery Liz,  another,  Polly,  the  Jumper,  and  other 
equally  select  and  high-sounding  appellations,  which 
they  seemed  proud  enough  of. 

Directly  we  were  secure,  the  mate  of  the  James 
16* 


186  BAEQUE   HENRY  H.    CRAPO   WRECKED. 

Allen  boarded  us,  and  informed  us  of  the  total  loss 
of  the  barque  Henry  H.  Crapo,  of  Dartmouth,  Massa- 
chusetts, with  the  destruction  of  all  the  crew,  fore 
and  aft,  excepting  the  captain  and  a  Sandwich 
Islander,  who  were  picked  up  by  an  English  steam- 
ship, after  thirty-six  hours  immersion  in  the  ocean. 
It  appears  that  whilst  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
she  was  struck  aback  by  a  heavy  squall  that  tripped 
her  up.  The  two  persons  saved  sprang  to  cut  away 
the  rigging,  to  save  her  and  give  her  opportunity  to 
right  again,  when  they  were  washed  overboard. 
Coming  in  contact  with  part  of  a  w^hale-boat,  and  a 
cutting-stage  with  lanyards  attached,  they  constructed 
a  raft,  on  which  they  were  saved.  At  the  time  of 
the  accident  one  watch  was  aloft  furling  the  foretop- 
sail.  This  craft  previously  bore  the  reputation  of 
being  tricky,  having,  according  to  the  account  of 
those  who  had  been  in  her,  several  times  before  been 
on  her  beam  ends.  All  her  crew  were  known  to  us, 
and  we  had  seen  them,  but  a  few  months  previous, 
rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  arrival  at  home. 
On  the  23d  and  24th  we  w^ere  busily  occupied  in 
breaking  out  and  getting  ashore  our  right  whale  oil. 
After  getting  it  all  in  casks,  we  launched  it  overboard, 
and,  with  four  boats  fully  manned,  the  crews  of  all 
joining  in  a  rattling,  heaving  song,  we  towed  the 
casks  along  before  the  city  front,  attracting  hundreds 
of  the  citizens  to  the  wharves  to  witness  the  method 
of  the  Yankees  at  work.  They  seemed  to  be  satis- 
fied by  their  scrutiny,  that  we  were  the  smartest 
nation  in  all  creation.  I  heard  one  of  them  say, 
*'They  are  a  bloody  smart  set  of  young  fellows,  and 
no  bloody  mistake;"  and,  indeed,  to  judge  from  the 


QOVERNMEXT   BARRACKS.  187 

appearance  of  the  specimens  of  the  two  races  here 
exhibited,   the   denizens    of   the    city   presented  a 
worn,  dissipated  aspect,  wliilst  our  boys,  fresh  from 
the  sea,  with  cheerful  countenances  and  sprightly 
motion,  looked  capable  of  any  amount  of  exertion. 
Directly  opposite  where  we  lay  was  the  Government 
barracks,  and  the  presence  of  the  red-coated  sentries, 
with  their  periodical  cry  of  "All's  well"  resounding 
through  the  air,  strangely  jarred  on  an  American 
ear.     Speaking  in  terms  easily  understood  of  mon- 
archical governments  and  their  hirelings,  this  town  is 
indeed  little  else  but  a  collection  of  people  under 
martial  subjection  ;  the  character  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  their  antecedents,  rendering  them  subjects   of 
peculiar  care  to  the   British   government ;   and  to 
ensure   their  good   behavior,  a  regiment   of  these 
scarlet-coated  gentry,  who  have  seen  actual  service, 
are  permanently  stationed  here.     By  their  presence, 
rather  than  any  work  they  are  called  upon  to  per- 
form, these  people  are  intimidated  into  decorum. 
Sentries  are  stationed  before  the  governor's  house 
and  the  various  public  buildings,  and  a  nightly  patrol 
is  placed  near  the  water.     They  are  continually  to 
be  seen  walking  about  the  streets  accompanied  by 
the  handsomest  females  in  the  place.     This  seems  a 
peculiar  privilege  of  the  soldier  —  no  matter  where 
you  go,  you  will  always  see  him  with  a  pretty  girl ; 
his  continual  presence  on  one  station  giving  him  an 
immense  advantage  over  the  sailor;  and  then,  too, 
the  color  of  his  coat  is  so  much  more  gay  than  the 
modest  blue,  that,  in  the  eyes  of  the  lass  that  loves 
display,  Jack  stands  no  chance  against  his  hereditary 
rival. 


188      POLICEMEN   AND   SOLDIERS — YOUNG   WOMEN. 

Just  above  the  town  there  is  an  eminence,  mounted 
with  heavy  artillery,  which  commands  the  harbor. 
It  is  laid  out  with  taste;  but,  being  little  versed  in 
military  science,  I  can  neither  vouch  for,  nor  detract 
from  its  effectiveness.  It  is  a  favorite  resort  for  the 
citizens,  and  is  often  the  theatre  of  prize-fights, 
which  take  place,  not  only  between  the  male,  but 
also  the  female  part  of  creation.  During  our  stay, 
two  courtezans  fought  for  a  pound  a  side,  and  battled 
away  for  some  fifteen  or  twenty  rounds,  when  the 
police  arrived  at  the  scene  of  combat,  and  conveyed 
the  participators  and  a  number  of  the  spectators  to 
the  lock-up.  The  police  force  is  well  organized  and 
eflTective,  and  patrol  the  streets  night  and  day.  In 
conjunction  with  the  soldiers,  they  are  the  guardians 
of  the  public  peace ;  and  one  would  think  that,  being 
coadjutors,  friendly  relations  existed  between  them ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  many  and  bloody  battles  occur. 
The  soldier  hates  the  policeman,  and  the  policeman 
fears  the  soldier.  If  the  policeman  detects  the  soldier 
in  any  little  peccadillo,  he  without  more  ado  arrests 
him,  if  he  be  alone,  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  fall- 
ing in  with  any  of  his  captive's  comrades ;  but,  woe 
betide  him  !  if  in  an  unguarded  moment  he  has 
counted  w^ithout  his  host  —  they  flock  around  him 
with  wondrous  alacrity,  take  off  their  belts,  and  with 
these  effective  weapons  soon  beat  off  the  police  with 
their  staves,  and  decamp  in  triumph. 

During  the  three  days  w^e  lay  here,  before  going 
ashore  on  liberty,  numbers  of  young  women  visited 
both  ships,  professedly  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
washing;  but,  no  matter  how  respectable  or  tidy 
tliey  looked,  their  vulgar  breeding  would  display  itself 


SMUGGLING  —  DESCRIPTION   OF   HOBARTOWN.      189 

before  they  left.  Two  of  them  got  into  a  fracas  on 
board  the  James  Allen;  and,  after  indulging  in  every 
expletive  in  and  out  of  the  Billingsgate  vocabulary, 
were  about  settling  their  difficulty  pugilistically,  but 
were  restrained  by  the  mate's  peremptorily  ordering 
them  into  their  boat.  On  their  showing  some  reluc- 
tance at  starting,  he  threatened  them  that  they  should 
never  again  come  aboard,  unless  they  obeyed.  This 
had  the  desired  effect,  and  they  went  away,  to  settle 
the  matter  ashore. 

A  short  time  previous  to  our  an'ival,  the  water- 
police  for  the  suppression  of  smuggling  had  been 
abolished;  and,  scarcely  was  our  anchor  down, 
when  the  watermen  came  aboard,  to  bargain  for 
tobacco  and  other  contraband  articles. 

Hobartown,  from  the  water,  does  not  present  a 
striking  appearance.  Apart  from  the  military  and 
the  public  buildings,  there  are  but  few  objects  of  in- 
terest to  the  beholder,  excepting  several  churches, 
and  a  huge  windmill,  perched  on  a  tower,  where 
corn  is  ground.  The  town  is  scattered,  or  rather  the 
buildings  are  —  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing, — 
over  a  considerable  area.  Its  population  is  variously 
estimated,  from  fifteen  to  sixty  thousand ;  I  having 
been  assured  by  at  least  a  dozen  respectable,  intelli- 
gent citizens,  that  both  these  numbers  were  correct. 
In  the  absence  of  a  certified  copy  of  the  census,  I 
will  establish  a  mean  betw^een  the  two,  and  estimate 
it  at  less  than  forty  thousand.  Its  streets  are  laid 
out  at  right-angles  wdth  each  other :  the  foot-path  is 
paved  with  flags,  and  the  carriage-way  macadamized. 
The  city  is  lighted  with  gas,  the  works  for  which  were 
imported  from  England.  Several  of  the  streets  present 


190  PERSONAL   PREPARATIOXS   FOR   A   VISIT. 

a  business-like  and  animated  appearance ;  particu- 
larly Murray  and  Liverpool  streets,  which  contain  the 
business-marts  —  the  latter,  like  Chatham  street,  New 
York,  or  South  street,  Philadelphia,  (both  of  which 
thoroughfares  I  have  mentioned  before,)  being  the 
place  of  business  for  pawnbrokers,  Jews,  old-clothes- 
dealers,  haberdashers,  &c.  At  almost  every  step  a 
grogger}^  stares  you  in  the  face,  and  a  glance  within 
will  assure  you  that  they  do  not  lack  patronage.  It 
is  not  unusual  to  see  a  husband  and  his  wife,  whose 
dress  and  appearance  betoken  an  acquaintance  with 
better  circles,  standing  at  the  bar,  and  partaking  from 
the  hands  of  the  rumseller  of  the  beverage  that  in- 
toxicates. I  know  of  nothing  that  more  disgusted 
me,  during  my  whole  absence  from  home,  than  wit- 
nessing two  females,  each  with  an  infant  in  her  arms, 
settling  some  domestic  concerns,  and  ratifying  the 
settlement  with  a  nobbier. 

But  here  I  have  been  describing  Hobartown,  when 
as  yet  I  have  not  been  ashore.  The  last  date  I  gave 
was  I  believe  the  25th,  and  the  26th  being  Sunday, 
on  the  day  succeeding  it,  which  was  liberty  day,  all 
were  busily  employed  in  washing,  barbarizing,  and 
attempting  to  change  our  semi-barbaric  appearance 
into  a  more  civilized  one;  so  as  to  be  enabled  to 
make  some  pretension  to  being  ladies'  men,  and  enter 
the  lists  for  feminine  favor  with  the  landlubbers 
ashore.  After  beautifying  our  persons  as  much  as 
our  means  would  permit,  long  togs  and  other  cloth- 
ing, that  had  been  stowed  away  in  the  corners  of 
donkeys  for  many  months,  w^ere  ferreted  out ;  and, 
w^hen  we  had  donned  them,  we  presented  a  pretty 
creditable  appearance.     Thus  unusually  attired,  and 


THE   captain's   ADDRESS   AND   ADVICE.  191 

feeling  something  like  fish  out  of  water,  we  jumped 
into  the  boat,  and  started  for  the  shore. 

On  once  more  arriving  among  houses,  streets,  and 
marts  for  business,  after  a  two-years'  exile  from  them, 
thoughts  of  my  own  happy  home  rushed  up  in  my 
memory,  and  bitterly  did  I  deplore  my  foolishness  in 
having  left  it ;  but  soon,  in  the  contemplation  of  new 
objects,  I  cheered  up,  and  began  my  peregrinations 
through  the  city,  w^ith  a  determination  to  criticize 
everything  impartially,  whether  English  or  colonial. 

The  most  prominent  objects,  w^ere  the  very  con- 
spicuous signs  of  the  different  groggeries,  among 
which  I  noticed  one,  on  the  corner  of  two  streets, 
w^ith  large  letters,  to  the  effect  that  it  was  the  General 
"Washington  House ;  and  a  few  steps  further  on  was 
the  Virginia  House  :  fully  attesting  that  some  wan- 
dering Yankee,  who  still  retained  his  American  bias, 
(and  where  is  there  a  son  of  our  native  land  —  no 
matter  how  long  he  has  been  absent  —  that  does  not 
retain  it?)  had  squatted  here,  and  christened  these 
two  sinks.  Amongst  other  names,  I  also  noticed,  the 
Marquis  of  AVaterford,  the  Garrick's  Head,  Hand- 
some Bar-Maid,  White  Swan,  Inkermann  Arms,  &c. 
Many  of  these  were  houses  of  ill-fame  or  assignation. 

Before  going  ashore,  our  captain,  in  a  short,  but 
pithy  address,  strongly  recommended  to  us  the  neces- 
sity of  avoiding  the  allurements  of  the  various  ship- 
ping-agents located  here.  Seamen  were  scarce,  and 
these  harpies,  ever  on  the  look-out  for  American  sea- 
men—  more  particularly  whalemen,  to  whom,  in  or- 
der to  secure  them,  they  will  at  any  time  give  the 
post  of  boatsteerer  —  made  many  offers  to  induce  our 
men  to  desert.    The  captain  mentioned  the  fact,  that 


192  SOBniETY   OF   THE   CREW. 

no  American  whaler  had  ever  made  this  port  with- 
out losing  a  part  of  her  crew,  and  urged  us  to  be  an 
exception  to  the  rule.  He  then  stated,  that  there 
was  not  a  man  or  boy  in  his  ship,  whom  he  wanted 
to  part  with  ;  and  wound  up  his  address  by  warning 
us  particularly  against  a  worthy,  whose  sobriquet  was 
Peg-legged  Johnson.  What  his  real  name  was,  I  do 
not  know.  He  had  a  wooden  leg,  and  a  brilliant 
reputation,  all  over  the  Indian  and  South  Pacific 
oceans,  for  stowing  away  seamen  who  deserted  from 
their  vessels ;  and  then,  on  the  ofi:er  of  a  reward  by 
their  captains,  returning  them.  The  captain's  advice 
was  well  timed,  and  had  a  good  effect.  It  was  other- 
wise with  the  James  Allen's  crew,  as  will  be  dis- 
closed as  I  proceed. 

Some  six  months  previous  a  number  of  our  ship's 
company  had  instituted  a  temperance  pledge,  which 
had  ten  signers,  none  of  whom  deviated  from  it,  and, 
indeed,  I  did  not  see  a  single  case  of  inebriety 
amongst  our  crew  during  our  stay  in  Hobartown.  I 
mention  this  as  a  sort  of  salvo  to  the  general  intem- 
perate reputation  of  seafaring  men. 

Going  through  the  streets,  I  was  much  surprised 
at  the  number  and  variety  of  the  occupations  of  the 
hawkers  crying  their  wares.  Here  one  was  calling 
at  the  top  of  his  voice  "Long,  strong,  and  three 
yards  long,  all  for  a  two-pence;"  he  had  shoe-strings 
for  sale.  Another  was  vending  hot  sevilloys,  a  com- 
pound resembling  a  sausage ;  whilst  another,  with  a 
bell  in  hand,  was  lauding  the  superiority  of  his  estab- 
lishment for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  second-hand 
clothing;  and  a  multitude  of  others  were  striving 
to   vociferate   louder  than   their   competitors   their 


BLIND   BEGGARS.  193 

claims  to  the  attention  of  purchasers  of  oysters, 
oranges,  nuts,  &c.  Besides  these  notorieties,  in  every 
street  there  was  an  unusual  number  of  blind  beggars. 
I  for  a  time  kept  handing  a  small  sum  to  each  of 
these  mendicants;  but  soon  gave  up  charity,  as  I 
found  that  it  was  deleterious  to  the  state  of  my  exche- 
quer ;  money  being  worth  twenty-five  cents  advance  on 
the  dollar  here,  and  therefore  a  commodity  not  very 
liberally  forked  over  by  our  captain.  On  stating  my 
suspicions  that  some  of  these  people  were  impostors, 
I  was  assured  to  the  contrary ;  my  informant  saying 
that  the  climate  was  hurtful  to  the  eyes — a  film,  some- 
what resembling  the  cataract,  covering  and  destroying 
the  sight — a  disease  easily  remedied  by  the  knife  of  a 
skilful  optician.  The  government  supplies  an  asylum 
for  these  unfortunates,  but  many  of  them  prefer 
strolling  about  the  streets,  to  confinement  in  such 
an  institution.  Many  of  them  are  attended  by  dogs, 
who  lead  them  about  with  precision. 

Soon  after  I  went  ashore  I  came  in  contact  with  a 
young  American,  who  had  been  located  in  the  city 
for  several  years.  Of  course,  our  being  from  the 
same  State,  betrayed  us  in  a  review  of  the  place  of 
our  birth,  into  a  friendly  intimacy.  I  asked  him  his 
opinion  of  Hobartown,  and  shall  never  forget  his 
answer;  it  was,  that  "lewdness  filled  the  streets, 
licentiousness  the  houses,  and  profanity  the  air." 
Although  not  prepared  to  endorse  his  sentiments  in 
toto,  I  must  confess  that  he  was  not  very  wide  of  the 
mark;  and,  whilst  I  have  him  in  remembrance,  I 
may  as  well  review  the  opportunities  ofiered  by  this 
part  of  Australia  to  induce  young  men  to  emigrate 
to  its  shores.  The  state  of  society,  makes  those  en- 
IT  N 


194  FEMALE  VISITORS. 

gaged  in  business  here,  whenever  thej  find  a  young 
man  coming  to  their  neighborhood  with  the  character 
of  an  honest  man,  anxious  to  secure  his  services,  and 
offer  him  a  good  recompense  for  them.  During  my 
stay  on  the  coast,  I,  in  several  cases,  had  such  offers 
tendered  me ;  and,  although  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view  they  were  advantageous,  I  have  never  once 
regretted  not  accepting.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
where  young  Americans  have  taken  up  their  resi- 
dence here,  they  have,  however  repugnant  the  habit 
may  have  at  first  appeared  to  them,  contracted  a  taste 
for  alcohol,  and  not  having,  like  these  people,  been 
accustomed  to  imbibe  it  from  childhood,  soon  became 
sots.  Hence  the  reluctance  of  captains  of  whale- 
ships  to  discharge  on  the  coast  any  of  their  crew 
in  whom  they  take  an  interest ;  well  knowing  that 
among  such  companions  moral  or  intellectual  im- 
provement is  out  of  the  question. 

As  the  lower  class  of  the  population,  more  par- 
ticularly the  female  portion,  consider  the  sailor  fair 
game,  our  ship  was  continually  the  scene  of  their 
visits.  Although  we  were  at  first  quite  pleased,  and 
felt  enlivened  by  the  presence  of  the  fairer  part  of 
creation  aboard  our  fioating  home,  we  shortly  dis- 
covered that  we  were  only  favored  with  their  com- 
pany from  interested  motives ;  and,  therefore,  after 
several  visits  had  passed,  but  little  more  attention 
was  paid  to  them,  except  by  the  idlers,  who  were 
glad  to  have  any  object  to  assist  them  in  whiling 
away  their  time. 

Great  attention  was  paid  by  these  dames  to  the 
younger  members  of  our  crew,  whom  they  hoped, 
on  account  of  their  inexperience,  easily  to  dupe;  but 


DESCRIPTION   OF  A   DANCE.  195 

it  was  only  on  one  occasion,  (the  eve  of  our  sailing,) 
that  any  encouragement  was  extended  to  induce 
them  to  prolong  their  visit  aboard  our  ship.  On 
that  evening — fancying  that  we  had  some  stray  shil- 
lings in  the  corners  of  our  pockets,  and  wishing  to 
relieve  us  of  an  article  that  would  be  of  no  use  to  us 
when  at  sea  —  they  came  off  to  the  number  of  a 
score  ;  and  as  their  blandishments  could  produce  no 
ill  effect,  (for  none  of  us  wanted  to  go  ashore  again 
at  Hobartown,)  our  accordeon- player  was  pressed 
into  service,  the  quarter-deck  cleared  away,  and  all 
hands  indulged  in  dancing  —  officers,  men,  and  visi- 
tors taking  a  part.  The  presence  of  the  officers,  and 
respect  for  the  old  ship,  restrained  those  whose 
buoyancy  of  spirit  would  otherwise  have  led  them 
to  run  riot. 

After  being  tired  out  with  dancing,  singing  was 
substituted ;  and,  take  it  all  in  all,  it  was  about  as 
merry  an  evening  as  could  well  be  passed.  All  par- 
ties, before  entering  into  these  gayeties,  had  been 
pledged  to  decorum ;  and,  as  there  were  no  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  by  an  indulgence  in  which  any  one 
might  be  led  to  forget  his  or  her  sense  of  propriety, 
nothing  was  said  or  done  that  could  have  called  a 
blush  to  the  most  modest  cheek:  a  circumstance,  the 
more  remarkable,  when  the  motley  character  of  the 
assemblage  is  remembered. 

There  are  several  establishments  in  the  city,  pro- 
fessedly theaters,  but  really  houses  of  questionable 
character,  where  dancing,  in  which  all  the  audience 
indulge,  is  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  the  performance. 

One  of  these  houses  my  curiosity  led  me  to  enter. 
Having  paid  over  my  shilling  to  the  door^ender,  I 


196  SYMPATHY  FOR  JACK   TAR. 

was  ushered  into  a  small  amphitheater.  On  its  stage 
sat  five  performers,  whose  faces  were  hlackened  with 
burned  cork.  They  were  attempting  to  give  deline- 
ations of  Ethiopian  characteristics;  but,  although 
the  audience  seemed  delighted  with  the  perform- 
ance, their  brogue  smacked  more  of  the  Paddy  or 
Sandy  than  of  that  of  the  Virginia  Darkie. 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  such  establishments  so 
often  entrap  the  unwary  sailor ;  who,  on  his  liberty- 
day,  bent  upon  amusement,  his  mind  unoccupied, 
and  in  possession  of  funds  sufiicient  to  make  him  an 
object  of  attraction  to  the  harpies  who  conduct  them, 
is  led  to  enter,  and,  ere  he  is  aware,  (unless  he  has  a 
spirit  that  is  proof  against  temptation,)  they  lead  him 
from  one  folly  to  another,  until  he  becomes  help- 
lessly intoxicated,  and  then  he  is  an  easy  prey  to 
whoever  wishes  to  plunder  him.  Strange  it  is,  that, 
with  the  victims  of  such  sharks  continually  before 
his  eyes  in  every  seaport  he  visits,  he  should  still 
persist  in  entering  such  places.  He  certainly  does 
not  do  it  blindly,  but  with  a  culpable  recklessness, 
that  is  almost  inexcusable.  He  will  not  stop  to  con- 
sider what  may  be  the  consequences  of  the  first  steps 
he  takes  in  the  path  of  sin.  He  is  never  deterred  from 
his  evil  course  by  viewing  the  wreck  of  his  fortune ; 
for,  when  utterly  impoverished  by  his  heedless  career 
on  land,  he  again  returns  to  his  favorite  element, 
upon  whose  broad  expanse,  or  in  Whose  mighty  deeps, 
he  sanguinely  expects  to  regain  all  his  treasure.  He 
scorns  to  reflect  upon  the  vile  arts  by  which  he  has 
been  debarred  from  the  field  of  fair  sailing  ashore,  nor 
regards  the  foul  atmosphere  of  the  brothel  as  more  to 
be  shunned  than  the  spray.     So,  at  sea,  he  thinks  not 


SURFEIT   OF  FRESH  MEAT.  197 

of  danger,  when  the  storm  king  in  his  wrath  is 
Bvveeping  over  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  hut  goes 
aloft  unfaltering,  although  surrounded  by  the  ele- 
mental war. 

The  Hobartown  market  is  abundantly  furnished 
with  most  excellent  meat — the  beef  I  never  saw  sur- 
passed, and  the  mutton  is  excellent.  The  principal 
part  of  the  beeves  consumed  here  are  brought  from 
Port  Phillip  in  small  craft  known  as  "bullockers," 
and,  despite  their  uncomfortable  passage  across  the 
straits,  land  in  excellent  condition.  We  had  plenty 
of  such  provender  whilst  we  lay  here  —  the  cook,  or 
steward,  having  orders  to  get  abundant  supplies  each 
morning,  except  Sundays  —  and  we  did  it  justice. 
Although  a  seaman  sighs  for  fresh  meat,  after  a  long 
cruise,  when  he  has  enjoyed  it  for  several  daj's  his 
appetite  becomes  surfeited,  and  he  gladly  hunts  up 
salt  junk,  and  partakes  of  it  with  a  relish.  The 
consumption  for  the  first  and  second  days  is  treble 
that  of  the-  succeeding  three.  A  vessel,  several  years 
ago,  touched  at  a  port  on  the  western  coast  of  South 
America,  for  a  reason  not  assigned.  There  was 
no  fresh  meat  furnished  to  the  crew,  in  lieu  of  it 
poultry  was  substituted,  which,  for  a  short  time,  was 
partaken  of  with  relish  ;  but  one  day  the  captain  was 
surprised  at  seeing  his  men  come  aft  and  complain 
of  their  chicken  diet,  asserting  that  they  had  had  too 
much  of  it,  and  could  not  work  upon  it.  Salt  junk 
was  served  out  in  its  place,  and  the  difficulty  settled. 
This  is  not  an  isolated  case  of  the  kind ;  I  have  read 
elsewhere,  I  think  in  one  of  J.  Fennimore  Cooper's 
works,  that  the  Scotch  garrisons  originally  stationed 
on  the  various  outposts  of  Great  Britain,  on  the  lakes, 
17* 


198      DESERTION  FROM  THE  JAMES  ALLEN. 

were  accustomed  to  complain  when  an  over  supply 
of  venison  or  salmon  was  meted  out  to  them;  these 
articles,  to  us  luxuries,  being  so  plentiful  near  their 
abode,  and  so  often  partaken  of  as  to  lose  their 
novelty.  At  the  present  writing  I  have  been  but  a 
few  months  without  fresh  provisions,  and  so  long  a 
dissertation  on  the  coveted  food,  has  conjured  up  to 
my  imagination,  visions  of  fresh  and  juicy  meat,  vege- 
tables in  profusion,  and  amongst  other  delicacies,  last, 
though  not  least,  a  buckwheat  or  Johnny  cake ;  neither 
would  a  piece  of  bread  and  cheese  be  out  of  the  way, 
or  any  other  of  the  little  et  ceteras  grateful  to  the 
appetite,  that  the  poorest  person  ashore  can  command 
at  will,  but  which  the  wanderer  on  the  sea  must  deny 
himself  when  engaged  in  a  long  voyage ;  the  owners 
generally  considering  salt  junk  and  hard  bread  as 
the  stafl's  of  life  at  sea. 

Daily,  whilst  here,  some  one  or  more  of  the  crew 
of  the  James  Allen  would  cut  stick,  and  defy  the 
most  strenuous  efforts  of  the  authorities  to  recapture 
them.  Finally  the  crew  was  reduced  to  but  a  moiety 
of  her  usual  number.  They  were  restricted  to  the 
day  ashore,  at  night  being  required  to  return  aboard 
their  ship ;  those  who  violated  this  restriction  were 
confined  altogether  to  the  vessel,  and  those  allowed 
to  go  ashore  were  put  by  their  captain  under  the 
surveillance  of  the  police,  and  if  found  ashore  at 
nightfall,  were  placed  in  the  lock-up.  Our  captain, 
to  secure  us  from  molestation,  furnished  us  with 
passes  to  the  effect  that,  by  his  permission  our  liberty 
extended  for  twenty-four  hours;  but  as  our  men 
behaved  themselves  in  the  most  decorous  manner, 
they  were  never  interfered  with ;  and  I  do  not  re- 


THE   EUROPEAN   PASSPORT   SYSTEM.  199 

member  having  heard  of  a  single  instance  where 
they  were  required  to  show  their  passes. 

This  passport  sj'steni  was  a  feature  worthy  of  the 
worst  despotism  of  the  Old  World.  Here  were  we, 
a  body  of  Americans,  visiting  an  English  harbor, 
after  a  long  confinement  aboard  ship  at  sea,  debarred 
from  enjoying  our  rambles  on  shore  with  perfect 
freedom,  and  feeling  ourselves  liable  at  any  moment 
to  be  stopped  by  the  police,  and  have  our  passports 
demanded.  And  why?  Forsooth,  was  this  done, 
beause  several  of  the  James  Allen's  crew  —  disgusted 
either  with  whaling,  the  sea,  or  the  harshness  of  the 
discipline  aboard  that  ship  —  chose  to  remain  ashore  ? 
To  be  sure,  they  had  all  signed  the  ship's  articles, 
and  agreed  to  remain  as  part  of  her  crew  during  the 
continuance  of  her  voyage,  and  by  leaving  her  here 
they  violated  the  letter  of  their  agreement;  but 
when  it  is  remembered,  that  the  greater  proportion 
of  those  now  deserting,  at  the  time  of  joining  the 
vessel  and  registering  their  names,  were  minors  — 
totally  ignorant  of  what  their  duties  and  hardships 
might  be  —  their  offence  appears  to  be  merely  venial. 
And,  again,  the  captain  is  also  bound  by  these  ar- 
ticles and  by  the  maritime  laws  of  the  United  States ; 
and,  if  he  has  observed  those  laws  in  letter  and  spirit, 
he  will  be  entitled  to  sympathy,  should  his  men 
desert  him.  But,  unfortunately,  as  soon  as  a  ship 
is  outside  of  land,  and  away  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
our  courts,  the  captain  is  too  apt  to  consider  himself 
as  the  law  and  all  its  officers.  He  is,  emphatically, 
when  on  the  high  seas,  himself  the  judge  and  jury ; 
from  his  decision  there  is  no  appeal,  and  to  his  fiat 
the  seamen  under  his  command  must  submit,   l^owy 


200      CONSULAR   agent's   OFFICE   AT   HOBARTOWN. 

should  he  be  guilty  of  gross  personal  abuse,  or  other- 
wise injure  any  of  his  men,  or  by  a  system  of  petty 
annoyances,  render  a  situation  under  him  unpleasant 
and  uncomfortable,  who  will  say  that  the  party  so 
injured  or  offended  may  not  withdraw  from  the 
sliip  ?  The  captain,  however,  will  not  let  him  go. 
What,  then,  shall  he  do  ?  Life  is  a  burden  to  him 
whilst  under  the  espionage  of  his  tormentor.  His 
remedy,  the  superficial  observer  at  once  would  say, 
would  be  to  throw  himself  and  his  complaints  on  the 
consideration  of  the  American  consul,  and  demand 
justice.  I  will  merely  relate  a  case  that  happened 
at  the  American  Consular  Agent's  Office  in  Hobar- 
town,  (the  agent,  by  the  way,  was  not  an  American,) 
to  wit : 

At  Flores  we  received  aboard  a  Portuguese,  without 
an  agreement.  He  remained  with  us,  as  one  of  the 
crew,  up  to  the  time  of  our  arrival  at  Hobartown, 
and  had  become  a  pretty  good  seaman.  One  liberty- 
day,  as  he  was  going  ashore,  the  captain  said  to  him 
he  wished  that  he  would  accompany  him  to  the  con- 
sul's office,  and  have  his  name  put  upon  the  ship's 
articles.  The  Portuguese  assented ;  but,  previous  to 
this,  the  shipping  agents  of  the  town  had  conferred 
with  him,  and,  discovering  that  he  was  not  bound 
to  the  ship,  had  offered  him  a  seaman's  wages  to  sail 
in  their  employ ;  consequently,  he  imbibed  a  notion 
of  the  real  value  of  his  services,  and  when  taken  to 
the  consul's  office  and  offered  a  landsman's  lay  by 
the  captain,  he  demanded  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
vessel's  earnings  —  one  commensurate  with  his  ser- 
vices. His  remonstrance  was  answered  by  a  box  on 
the  ear ;  and  he  was  taken  to  the  wharf,  put  in  a 


jack's  antipathy  to  the  law.  201 

boatman's  charge,  and  conveyed  to  our  vessel ;  from 
which  time  he  was  not  allowed  to  go  ashore  again 
whilst  we  remained  in  the  harbor. 

It  may  be  seen,  from  the  result  in  this  instance, 
that  men  have  but  little  encouragement  to  apply 
to  the  consul.  What,  then,  shall  they  do?  The 
En  dish  courts  will  not  receive  an  American  sea- 
man's  complaints  —  stating  that  they  have  no  juris- 
diction in  such  a  case ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  they 
will  grant  to  the  captain  of  a  vessel  warrants  for  the 
arrest  and  detention  of  any  of  his  crew  who  may 
desert. 

Thus,  both  these  avenues  to  justice  and  right  are 
in  a  measure  closed  against  the  sailor;  but,  even 
were  they  open,  I  doubt  whether  Jack  would  resort 
to  them.  Taught  by  experience,  as  well  as  from  the 
prejudice  of  ignorance,  he  cherishes  a  strong  anti- 
pathy toward  both  the  law  and  its  executors;  for 
which  reason,  he  does  not  care  to  prefer  a  complaint 
in  a  court  of  justice,  but  would  rather  forswear  its 
promised  shelter,  and  take  the  seemingly  shorter  and 
easier  method  offered  by  desertion,  to  gain  a  release 
from  tyranny  or  exemption  from  unbearable  wrongs. 
In  adopting  the  latter  course,  however,  it  not  unfre- 
quently  happens,  that,  instead  of  having  improved 
his  condition,  he  finds,  to  use  a  homely  adage,  that 
he  has  jumped  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire. 

Bat  I  must  resume  my  narrative,  and  speak  of  the 
colonists,  among  whom  there  is  a  generation  now 
rising  who  have  been  born  on  the  island.  They  are 
known  as  Van  Diemanians  or  Tasmanians.  The 
males  are  large,  fine-looking  fellows,  and  the  females 
generally  possess  some  beauty  and  intelligence. 


202  HOBARTOWN   BOATS. 

This  city  having  considerable  whaling  trade,  there 
is  a  corresponding  interest  taken  in  everything  per- 
taining to  that  pursuit.  For  instance,  all  the  boats 
that  ply  about  the  city  front,  large  or  small,  are  in 
the  form  of  a  whale-boat.  Regattas  are  held,  under 
the  patronage  of  the  colonial  government,  at  which 
various  prizes  are  distributed  to  the  victorious  crews 
of  the  successful  boats :  and  now  for  a  word  about 
these  boats.  During  the  voyage  we  had  two  of  thera, 
one  of  which  was  purchased  from  the  Flying  Childers, 
when  we  were  off'  the  coast  of  New  Zealand,  in  ex- 
change for  tobacco  —  the  other  we  procured  in  Ho- 
bartown.  The  former  had  taken  a  prize  at  the 
regatta ;  and,  therefore,  I  think  we  may  be  said  to 
have  had  fair  specimens  of  the  manufacture.  These 
boats  are  longer,  sharper,  higher,  and  heavier  than 
ours;  they  are  built  of  hard  wood  —  there  being  no 
wood  in  this  country  comparable  to  our  cedar  for  the 
construction  of  whale-boats.  Being  heavier,  they  are 
of  course  more  difficult  to  pull,  and,  although  higher 
and  sharper,  some  peculiarity  in  the  model  renders 
them  so  wet  and  uncomfortable,  that,  to  use  the  words 
of  those  who  had  often  got  wet  jackets  whilst  in 
them,  "  They  do  not  ride  a  sea,  but  pass  right  through 
it."  One  advantage  they  possess  in  the  polished 
smoothness  of  their  surface,  which  enables  them  to 
glide  through  the  water  with  scarcely  any  perceptible 
noise,  and  approach  the  whale  before  he  has  an 
inkling  of  its  whereabouts.  Many  of  these  Hobar- 
town  vessels  totally  discard  boats  manufactured  by 
the  artizaus  of  that  town,  whilst  others  vastly  prefer 
them  to  the  American  boat.  From  experience,  I 
should  say  that  the  latter  craft,  viewed  in  every  light, 


PROCURING  WATER  —  LIBERTY  DAY.  203 

is  superior;  and,  again,  it  has  the  advantage  of  being 
two-thirds  cheaper  —  the  Hobartown  boat  costing 
from  thirty  to  fifty  pounds,  and  the  American  fifteen 
or  twenty  at  the  most. 

We  had  but  little  trouble  in  procuring  water,  for, 
if  so  disposed,  a  ship  can  have  it  brought  alongside ; 
but  if  not,  all  that  is  necessary  is,  as  we  did,  to  tow 
a  raft  of  casks  to  the  dock,  fill  them  from  a  hose, 
and  then  convey  them  back  to  the  ship.  The  water 
is  of  an  excellent  quality,  and  keeps  sweet  a  long 
time. 

As  liberty  was  given  every  day,  and  the  watches 
were  ashore  alternately,  the  privilege  of  remaining 
ashore  during  the  night  was  extended  to  each  indi- 
vidual. For  the  convenience  of  those  who  were  dis- 
posed to  return  aboard,  a  boat  was  sent  in  at  sun- 
down; but  it  seldom  brought  off  any  of  the  liberty- 
men.  It  was  manned  by  the  watch  on  duty ;  so  that 
three-fourths  of  the  ship's  company  might  be  ashore 
every  night.  The  boat  generally  returned  before 
midnight ;  and  it  was  customary  for  th-e  crew  that 
manned  it  to  sing  a  jolly  heaving-song  at  the  top  of 
their  voices  —  all  joining  in  the  chorus;  and  the 
nights  being  still  and  serene,  the  effect  produced  was 
rather  startling  through  the  silent  harbor. 

On  the  5th  of  August  all  hands  were  aboard  — 
liberty  having  been  discontinued  —  all  preparations 
made  for  sailing,  and  no  intercourse  allowed  with 
the  shore.  Many  of  our  crew  wished  to  provide 
themselves  with  little  articles  for  sea-use;  but  the 
captain,  having  all  on  board,  determined  to  keep 
them  there,  and  took  the  execution  of  all  their  little 
commissions  upon  himself.    There  was,  however,  no 


204  A   QUESTION   OF   MORALITY. 

need  of  this  precaution,  in  order  to  confine  us  on 
board  our  ship ;  for,  throughout  the  entire  day,  we 
did  not  fail  to  have  many  opportunities  to  desert,  if 
any  of  us  had  felt  so  disposed,  and  had  availed  our- 
selves of  the  watermen's  boats,  which  were  continu- 
ally arriving  at,  and  departing  from  the  ship. 

In  referring  to  the  account  of  what  transpired 
aboard  the  ship  on  the  last  night  of  our  stay  in  the 
harbor  of  Hobartown,  it  may,  perhaps,  be  said  by 
the  strict  moralist,  that  too  much  latitude  of  correct 
moral  principle  was  allowed  by  admitting  female 
visitors,  whose  reputation,  at  least,  if  not  their  real 
character,  was  that  of  the  lowest  grade  ;  inasmuch  as 
by  their  participation  in  the  gay  hilarities  of  that 
evening  encouragement  was  given  to  the  idea,  that 
their  guilty  course  of  life  was  no  hindrance  to  the 
realization  of  lawful  and  innocent  pleasure.  !N"ow, 
considering  the  fact  that  so  many  youngsters  were 
comprised  in  our  crew  —  "young  bloods,"  of  keen 
susceptibilities  for  sport,  whom  the  license  of  an 
hour  might  probably  transform  into  "fast  young 
men," — we  must  acknowledge  the  apparent  justness 
of  this  objection.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  let  us  consider 
the  relation  in  which  the  captain  of  a  ship  stands  to 
his  men :  it  is  not  one  which  authorizes  or  requires 
him  to  assume  the  care  and  rod  of  a  parent,  or  teacher 
of  morals ;  but  is  one  which  demands  a  disciplne  that 
can  secure  their  willing,  hearty,  and  effective  service. 
Moreover,  it  is  impossible  fully  to  control  the  incli- 
nations of  a  boy,  who  likely  has  always  had  his  own 
way  at  home,  and  has  been  sent  to  sea  on  account 
of  a  too  free  indulgence  of  self-will.  I  say  that  it  is 
absolutely  impossible  to  govern  such  a  stripling,  (after 


EXPEDIENCY   OF   MORAL   INDULGENCE.  205 

his  parents  have  failed,  while  he  was  surrounded  by 
the  influences  of  home,)  when  separated  fifteen 
thousand  miles  from  his  native  country,  and  after 
two  years  of  forecastle  life,  during  w^hich,  being  con- 
tinually in  the  society  of  sailors,  boys  grow  to  be 
men  in  opinion  and  ideas,  and  expect  to  be  treated 
as  such  when  ashore.  As  to  the  expediency  of  some- 
what relaxing  the  rigid  rules  of  moral  discipline,  we 
may  be  satisfied  by  a  mere  contrast  of  the  position 
of  our  own  with  the  crew  of  the  James  Allen  at  the 
same  moment.  On  board  the  latter,  the  men  had 
been  hectored  and  thwarted,  and  consequently  more 
than  one-half  had  deserted  —  leaving  the  void  to  be 
filled  up  with  green  hands, — and  those  who  remained 
w^ere  sullen,  dissatisfied,  and  discontented;  whilst  our 
own  crew  were  all  aboard  their  ship,  both  cheerj^  and 
ready  to  go  to  sea.  The  fact  of  all  the  hands  that 
were  brought  into  this  port  again  going  out  in  the 
ship,  of  their  own  accord,  is  unprecedented  in  the 
annals  of  the  arrival  and  departure  of  American 
whalers ;  for,  commonly,  such  vessels  lose  a  half  or 
two-thirds  of  their  crews.  A  few  months  ago,  the 
ship  Hunter,  of  IS'ew  Bedford,  touched  here,  and  lost 
a  number  of  her  men — several  of  whom  are  now 
acting  as  policemen.  Our  non-success  in  capturing 
whales  gave  good  cause  for  apprehending  that  we 
should  meet  with  a  like  loss,  and  our  not  doinfir 
so  may  be  attributed  to  the  general  good  treat- 
ment which  characterized  our  ship  throughout  her 
voyage.  Although  not  a  paradise,  still  she  was  as 
good  as  the  best  of  whalers.  No  overt  act  of  cruelty 
or  brutality  had  been  exercised  on  any  one  of  our 
18 


206  CHARACTER   OF   COLONIAL   SEAMEN. 

crew ;  and  therefore  they  were  now  all  satisfied  again 
to  go  afloat  in  her. 

In  the  morning  three  new  men  came  aboard :  two 
of  them  were  ordinary  seamen,  or  as  such  they  repre- 
sented themselves  —  one  having  steered  a  boat,  and 
the  other  having  been  a  year  before  the  mast  in  a 
colonial  vessel.  If  these  were  fair  specimens  of  colo- 
nial seamen,  the  poorest  must  indeed  be  very  low ; 
for  none  of  them  knew  the  compass,  or  the  rigging, 
or  how  to  furl  a  square  sail.  The  whole  three  were 
Irishmen,  of  the  class  that  are  banished  from  their 
country  for  their  country's  good. 


TAKING  LEAVE  OF  HOBARTOWN.        207 


CHAPTER  IX. 

At  8  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  we  hove 
up  our  anchor,  got  under  weigli,  and,  with  a  fair 
wind,  stood  down  the  river  —  leaving  Hobartown  in 
the  distance  —  bound  on  another  long  cruise  to  the 
westward. 

But  before  I  take  leave  of  Hobartown,  I  must 
acknowledge  the  general  welcome  and  hospitality 
with  which  we  were  greeted  and  treated  b}^  its 
inhabitants,  who  seemed  very  desirous  to  add  their 
contributions  to  make  our  time  whilst  in  their 
harbor  pass  pleasantly.  The  mere  fact  of  our  being 
Americans  was  a  passport  to  their  good  opinion. 
Although,  when  we  are  absent,  they  jeer  at  our 
national  peculiarities,  and  lay  great  stress  upon 
"guess"  and  "calculate,"  yet  they  are  all  suavity 
when  in  our  company.  Away  from  home  the  whole 
of  our  people  are  known  as  Yankees,  whether  hail- 
ing from  the  northern,  southern,  eastern,  or  western 
section  of  our  Union.  Being  an  American,  as  far  as 
my  experience  goes,  is  indeed  a  passport  to  civility 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  all  these  penal  colonies. 
Though  the  greater  part  of  these  people  have  been 
banished  from  Europe  for  their  violation  of  the  laws 
of  their  native  country,  nevertheless,  they  still  con- 
sider themselves  to  be  the  injured  party,  and  view 
England  as  a  great  oppressor,  by  whose  peculiar 


208       COLONIAL   SELF-GOVERNxMENT  —  SHARPERS. 

societary  organization  her  subjects  are  urged  on  to 
evil ;  and  therefore  they  say,  as  such,  they  have 
neither  regard  nor  respect  for  her.  I  noticed  that  the 
military  band  were  continually  playing,  God  save  the 
Queen ;  but  I  saw  nothing  of  that  affection  for  the 
sovereign,  which  the  English  papers  are  forever  re- 
hearsing, as  being  an  inherent  principle  in  the  British 
composition.  Respect  for  her  virtues,  as  a  woman, 
they  readily  yield ;  but  these  people  have  a  vague 
idea  of  republicanism,  tbat  will  eventually  cost 
Great  Britain  her  Australian  colonies ;  although  self- 
government  among  such  a  people  will  undoubtedly 
be  productive  of  little  else  than  anarchy  and  disorder. 
The  discordant  elements  composing  the  population 
need  a  thorough  alterative,  ere  they  can  hope  to  form 
a  government  in  any  way  resembling  our  Union  of 
the  West;  and  from  my  own  impressions,  drawn 
from  an  observation  of  both  the  higher  and  lower 
classes  of  society,  I  should  say  that  it  would  require 
all  the  abattoirs  of  Paris,  —  which  extend,  I  forget 
how  many  miles,  and  render  it  the  most  thoroughly 
drained  city  in  the  world,  —  as  an  outlet  for  the 
moral  corruption  of  this  country. 

And  now  I  must  touch  briefly  on  Yan  Dieman's 
Land  business-operations.  Yankee  cuteness  in  bar- 
gaining has  became  a  proverb,  but  I  doubt  whether 
the  sharpest  of  the  speculators  from  the  land  of 
wooden  nutmegs  could  outdo  the  sharpers  found 
here.  Long  before  we  passed  the  Iron  Pot  light, 
a  boat,  containing  a  couple  of  speculators,  came 
alongside,  and  her  passengers  jumped  aboard  of  us. 
(One  of  their  names,  by  the  way,  was  Smart,  and  he 
sustained  the  aptitude  of  his  cognomen  to  the  best 


A   NEW   ZEALAND   ADVENTURE.  209 

of  his  ability.)  We  purchased  a  boat  of  them,  which, 
after  we  were  outside,  was  found  to  be  much  worn, 
and  the  crevices  filled  with  putty  and  neatly  painted, 
so  as  to  defy  detection.  The  potatoes,  bought  for 
first-rate,  were  very  ordinary  ;  and  the  salt-meat,  ten 
tierces  of  which  had  been  bought  for  corned  beef — 
being  represented  as  having  been  but  a  short  time 
out  of  pickle  —  was  fairly  white  with  an  encrustation 
of  salt,  which  no  amount  of  soaking  would  remove  : 
beinff  ten  times  more  saline  than  that  which  we  had 
brought  from  home  twenty-four  montlis  previously. 
This  meat,  when  opened,  was  not,  like  ours,  of  a  rich 
red  and  yellow  hue,  but  of  a  sickly  pink  and  white, 
which  may  have  been  owing  to  the  absence  of  salt- 
petre in  the  pickle.  It  was  quite  fat;  but  the  fat 
was  like  suet,  and  eatable  only  whilst  warm ;  want- 
ing the  rich,  pleasant  taste  of  the  fat  on  our  own 
meat.  The  epicure  may  laugh  at  my  expression  of 
"rich  taste,"  applied  to  a  piece  of  salt-junk;  but  let 
him  do,  as  I  have  done,  after  hours  of  fatiguing 
night-duty  —  when  his  system  is  almost  prostrated 
from  exposure  to  wind  and  weather  —  go  down  to 
his  messpan,  get  a  piece  of  fat  beef,  a  cake  of  hard 
bread,  and  a  raw  onion,  (if  he  is  fortunate  enough 
to  possess  the  latter,)  and  then  go  on  deck,  and 
munch  it,  then,  I  think,  he  will  find  the  taste  of  it 
rich,  grateful  and  pleasant. 

Before  I  go  farther,  I  must  relate  a  lN"ew  Zealand 
adventure,  which  escaped  my  notice  whilst  writing 
of  that  delectable  coast,  and  as  it  is  one  of  the  few 
incidents  of  my  voyage  with  which  a  woman  is  con- 
nected, it  would  not  be  just  for  me  to  omit  it :  it  was 
as  follows.  One  night  whilst  we  lay  in  Milford 
18*  0 


210  A   NEW   ZEALAND   ADVENTURE. 

Haven  Bay,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  schooner  Eliza 
approached  me  very  mysteriously,  and  asked  the 
privilege  of  a  few  minutes  conversation  with  me. 
Of  course  I  acquiesced,  wondering  at  the  motive  for 
his  request.  I  was  soon  enlightened.  He  stated  that 
in  the  settlement  where  he  lived,  at  Jacob's  Eiver 
Bluff,  at  the  extremity  of  the  middle  island,  their 
former  physician,  who  for  many  years  had  practised 
in  the  vicinity,  had  died,  and  they,  therefore,  were 
without  medical  attention.  Having  heard  my  ship- 
mates call  me  Doctor,  and  discovering,  upon  inquiry, 
that  I  had  dabbled  somewhat  in  physic  at  home,  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  I  was  an  expert  practitioner, 
and  the  idea  entered  his  head  to  secure  me  as  a  resi- 
dent at  the  Bluff".  He  stated  the  matter  to  me, 
assuring  me  of  a  remunerative  practice,  and,  as  a 
further  inducement  offered  me  one  of  his  daughters 
as  a  wife.  He  represented  her  as  a  beautiful  half- 
caste  girl  —  and  I  found,  upon  inquiry,  that  he  did 
her  but  justice.  I  was  both  amused  and  surprised  at 
the  ardor  with  which  he  urged  the  matter,  and  did 
not  give  him  a  final  answer,  wishing  to  draw  him 
out.  The  old  fellow  thought  that  he  had  me  safe, 
when  I  deemed  it  time  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  and  in- 
formed him  that  my  engagements  to  the  owners  of 
our  ship  were  of  so  urgent  a  nature  that  I  could  not 
leave  without  the  captain's  full  consent.  He  assured 
me  that  there  would  be  no  difficulty  about  that,  if  I 
would  but  give  my  consent  to  the  matter;  he  would 
stow  me  away  so  that  no  one  would  be  able  to  find 
me,  and  at  the  end  of  their  cruise  carry  me  to  the 
Bluff.  Of  course  I  could  not  consent  to  this,  although 
every  time  he  renewed  his  solicitations,  he  enjoined 


ADVENTURES   OF  A   SAILOR.  211 

on  me  to  remember  the  gal.  I  certainly  should  have 
liked  to  have  formed  an  acquaintance  with  her,  but 
I  had  too  many  ties  at  home  to  forget  and  forsake 
my  country.  This  old  fellow  was  an  English  man- 
of-war's  man  who  had  deserted  from  his  ship  in  the 
early  days  of  the  settlement  of  the  island,  and  mar- 
rying a  native  woman,  had  reared  a  family  of  hand- 
some and  interesting  children.  His  code  of  morals 
was  not  of  the  highest  standard,  neither  was  his  sense 
of  duty  as  a  parent,  or  he  would  not  have  wished  to 
dispose  of  his  daughter  so  summarily  without  her 
consent ;  but  then  he  may  have  been  fully  acquainted 
with  her  wishes,  and  I  was  assured  that  these  girls 
consider  it  as  a  great  honor  to  secure  an  American 
husband.  In  proof  of  this  I  will  relate  the  adven- 
tures of  a  townsman  of  mine.  He  sailed  from  New 
Bedford  in  a  whaler,  deserted  at  Bravo,  one  of  the 
Cape  De  Verde  Islands,  contracted  some  sort  of  a 
marriage  with  one  of  the  Portuguese  girls  there,  be- 
came tired  of  her,  and  shipped  aboard  a  second  IsTew 
Bedford  ship  bound  to  the  South  Seas.  She  cruised 
off  ^N'ew  Zealand,  and  then  proceeded  to  the  Austra- 
lian Bight.  Whilst  in  these  latitudes,  this  young  man 
fell  from  the  maintop  into  the  waist  boat,  and  dis- 
placed his  ribs.  A  few  days  after  the  accident  we 
fell  in  with  her,  and  I  went  aboard  and  set  them.  We 
saw  no  more  of  the  ship  or  him  for  a  long  time,  when 
one  day,  whilst  we  were  gammoning  with  the  Colo- 
nial ship  Pacific,  I  was  surprised  at  seeing  the  self- 
same individual  step  aboard  from  her  boat,  well  and 
hearty,  having  perfectly  recovered  from  his  injury. 
He  told  me  that  being  weak  for  some  time  after  he 
was  hurt,  his  captain  had  left  him  ashore  at  Stewart's 


212  ADVENTURES   OF   A    SAILOB. 

Island,  with  sufficient  for  all  his  wants,  promising  to 
call  at  a  certain  time.  The  ship  not  making  her  ap- 
pearance at  the  stated  period,  and  being  perfectly 
recovered,  he  became  weary  of  inactivity,  and  on  the 
Pacific's  touching  at  the  island,  he  joined  her,  throw- 
ing away  several  hundred  dollars  which  were  his 
proportion  of  his  former  ships  (the  Alexander)  earn- 
ings. The  Alexander  touched  at  the  island  a  few 
wrecks  after,  but  found  the  bird  flown,  to  the  cap- 
tain's regret,  as  the  missing  individual  was  one  of  his 
most  useful  men.  He  continued  in  the  Pacific  for 
five  or  six  months,  and  on  her  touching  a  second 
time  at  the  island,  deserted  from  her  and  married  the 
girl  whom  the  cooper  was  desirous  that  I  should  mate 
with.  Thus  this  youngster,  scarce  arrived  at  man- 
hood, had,  in  the  course  of  two  years,  left  his  home, 
and  been  a  member  of  three  ships,  married  twice, 
and  at  the  last  account  of  him  was  snugly  anchored 
in  an  out  of  the  way  nook  in  the  South  Pacific, 
thousands  of  miles  from  his  kindred,  who  know 
nothing  of  his  whereabouts,  neither  are  they  likely 
to,  without,  amongst  his  other  freaks,  he  should 
attempt  that  of  returning  home.  Thus  it  is,  a  free 
life  on  the  salt  water  certainly  engenders  this  un- 
settled, roving  tendency.  A  sailor  considering  him- 
self at  home  in  every  clime;  well-knowing  that 
however  little  employment  there  may  be  for  other 
professions,  the  ways  of  commerce  w^ll  always  supply 
him  with  a  berth  sufficient  to  provide  for  all  his 
wants.  The  better  the  seaman,  generall}^,  the  more 
wild  and  reckless  are  his  frolics;  never  learning 
wisdom,  or  staying  his  rollicking  career,  until  the 
blue  waves  of  old  ocean  close  over  his  sinking  form, 


NEWS   OF   OUR    MISSING   BOAT.  213 

or  he  is  hove  down  in  some  foreign  hospital,  a  prey  to 
disease  brought  on  by  his  own  imprudence.  His  life 
ebbs  out,  amongst  strangers,  when,  if  at  home,  his 
sick  couch  w^ould  be  surrounded  by  kind  friends,  or, 
perhaps,  a  fond  mother  or  sister,  who,  at  the  dictates 
of  affection,  would  minister  to  his  dying  wants, 
and  smooth  his  dreary  passage  with  all  the  comforts 
procurable  by  affection. 

But  I  must  resume  the  legitimate  course  of  my  log, 
wdiich  was  interrupted,  I  believe,  as  we  were  making 
our  way  down  the  Derwent.  By  night  we  were  out- 
side and  beating  up  for  the  Southwest  Cape.  There, 
on  Sunday  the  9th,  we  sighted  sperm  whales.  We 
lowered  away,  and  in  about  an  hour  had  one  snugly 
moored  alongside.  The  following  day  we  cut  him 
in  despite  a  gale  of  wind ;  fortunately,  saving  the 
whale.  On  the  following  Wednesday  we  saw"  another 
school  of  whales,  but,  after  chasing  all  day,  gave  up 
the  pursuit  as  hopeless.  As  soon  as  we  were  done 
boiling,  the  James  Allen  hove  in  sight,  having  left 
Hobartown  several  days  after  we  sailed.  They  in- 
formed us  that  after  we  left,  her  cooper,  and  one  of 
her  boatsteerers  deserted,  having  been  enticed  away 
by  the  smiles  of  some  of  Hobartown's  syrens.  They 
also  stated  that  the  Prince  Regent  had  arrived,  and 
brought  news  of  our  missing  boat's  crew.  That,  a 
few  days  after  our  leaving  the  coast  of  l^ew  Zealand, 
they  came  alongside  the  Prince  Regent  and  begged 
for  provisions  and  some  water,  saying  that  they 
had  been  lying  in  a  bay  a  short  distance  South 
of  Milford  Haven,  waiting  for  our  departure  from 
the  coast.  Those  who  saw  them  said  that  they  were 
emaciated  and  woe-begone  to  a  painful  degree.   The 


214  SrERM   WHALE   CAPTURED. 

captain  of  the  Prince  Eegent,  who,  both  with  his  own 
countrymen  and  strangers,  bears  the  unenviable  noto- 
riety of  being  a  niggard,  refused  to  give  them  a 
single  thing.  The}^  left  him  and  went  alongside  a 
Maurii  schooner,  where  their  wants  were  supplied  — 
the  semi-civilized  man,  who  is  sneered  at  by  his  more 
polished  cotemporary,  displaying  the  most  humanity. 
Afterward  they  were  seen  to  go  into  Open  Bay,  take 
aboard  several  men  who  had  deserted  from  the  Lady 
Emma,  and  direct  their  boat  to  the  northward,  where 
we  will  leave  them,  until,  in  the  due  course  of  the 
narrative,  their  further  exploits  are  developed. 

On  the  15th  the  sun  arose  amid  a  pretty  fresh  gale 
of  wind.  Directly  after  breakfast  we  sighted  sperm 
whales.  The  weather  looked  rather  dubious;  but 
we  wanted  oil  very  bad — so  down  went  our  boats  and 
after  them.  They  were  slightly  to  windward  of  us, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  force  our  boats  to  the 
weather,  in  the  teeth  of  both  sea  and  wind,  so,  at  10 
o'clock,  the  boats  returned  aboard.  At  11  we  tried 
it  again ;  at  12  again  returned,  ate  dinner,  and,  not 
at  all  discouraged  by  the  two  preceding  failures,  at 
two  o'clock  dropped  our  boats  a  third  time,  after 
having  beat  up  with  the  ship  to  windward  of  the 
school.  The  third  attempt  proved  successful,  and, 
fortunately,  the  fish  struck  ran  but  very  little,  and 
was  easily  disposed  of.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of 
the  hardships  of  the  whaleman's  life,  from  a  recountal 
of  this  day's  work.  During  the  whole  time  that  the 
boats  were  down,  the  rain  descended  in  torrents,  and 
the  sea  was  so  rugged  that  it  was  only  by  incessant 
bailing  that  the  boats  were  kept  from  swamping. 
Added  to  this,  the  weather  was  quite  cool,  and  the 


FORTUNE   FAVORS   US.  215 

wind  was  at  such  a  height  that  douhle-reefed  topsails 
were  all  the  ship  would  bear;  yet,  despite  all  this, 
the  brave  fellows,  when  they  came  aboard,  although 
chilled  through  and  wet  to  the  skin,  made  light  of 
the  difficulties,  and  stated  their  willingness  and  even 
eagerness  to  encounter  the  same  hardships  again  for 
another  whale.  The  wind  continuing,  we  had  a 
troublesome  job  the  next  day  in  getting  him  aboard. 
The  following  Wednesday,  as  if  fortune  was  deter- 
mined to  make  us  some  reparation  for  the  former 
sparsity  of  her  favors,  we  again  saw  whales,  captured 
one  and  got  him  all  aboard  the  same  day  —  making 
over  two  hundred  barrels  of  sperm  oil  taken  by  us 
in  ten  days.  The  James  Allen  was  in  sight  of  us  when 
we  captured  the  last  two,  and  had  the  same  chance ; 
her  miscarrying,  therefore,  can  be  attributed  only  to  the 
fact  of  her  boats'  crews  being  unaccustomed  to  boat 
duty,  and  unable  to  compete  with  ours  —  her  old 
crew  being  pretty  nearly  all  gone,  and  her  boats  now 
manned  by  men  who  never  saw  a  whale  before.  I 
think  that  this  should  be  a  sufficient  inducement  for 
whaling  captains  to  treat  their  crews  well,  so  as  to 
retain  them,  when,  at  the  end  of  two  years,  they 
make  a  good  port,  they  may  not  have  an  inefficient, 
almost  helpless  crew,  instead  of  able  hands  to  do 
their  behests. 

The  next  Sunday,  unlike  the  two  preceding  ones, 
was  a  day  of  rest  —  on  one  of  the  former  being 
engaged  in  whaling,  and  on  the  next  in  cutting-in. 
Being  a  fine  day  we  gammoned  with  the  James 
Allen ;  whilst  so  employed,  we  noticed  a  brig  to  lee- 
ward with  her  colors  set  at  the  mizzen-peak.  At 
first,  little  attention  was  paid  to  her ;  but  the  colors 


216  SHIP   LAPWING   GAMMONED. 

continuing  set,  we  squared  our  yards  and  ran  off  to 
her.  She  proved  to  he  the  brig  Julia,  of  Hobartown, 
five  months  out,  with  twenty-eight  tons  of  sperm  oih 
Her  reason  for  showing  her  colors  was,  that  she  had 
on  board  a  boat's  crew,  who,  with  two  other  boats' 
crews,  now  ashore  in  the  vicinity,  belonging  to  the  brig 
Maid  of  Erin,  of  Hobartown,  separated  from  their  ves- 
sel, having  lowered  for  whales  just  at  nightfall,  and 
lost  sight  of  the  brig  in  their  eagerness  to  capture 
whales.  There  was  no  one  aboard  the  Maid  of  Erin, 
except  a  few  inexperienced  hands,  and  the  boat's  crew 
expressed  their  apprehensions  of  some  casualty  to  her, 
should  it  come  on  to  blow.  What  the  result  was  I 
never  learned,  as  a  short  time  afterward  we  left  the 
cape,  proceeding  northward  to  Kangaroo  Island.  See- 
ing no  whales,  we  changed  our  course  to  the  west- 
ward, passing  the  Recherche  Islands,  and  having  a  fine 
view  of  Pollock's  Reef — a  dangerous  line  of  rocks, 
a  long  distance  from  the  main  land,  extending  for 
several  miles,  over  which  the  sea  roars  and  tumbles  in 
huge  broken  masses,  impressing  the  beholder  with  a 
sense  of  danger  as  he  gazes  upon  it.  Just  before  reach- 
ing this  locality  we  saw  right  whales,  but  could  get 
nowhere  near  them.  Soon  afterward  we  gammoned 
the  ship  Lapwing,  of  Kew  Bedford;  she  brought 
letters  from  home  for  us,  but  gave  them  to  the  Alex- 
ander, supposing  that  we  still  remained  ofi'  New 
Zealand.  Whilst  gammoning  with  her,  a  line  of  dan- 
gerous reefs  was  sighted  close  to  us,  and,  during  the 
night  and  following  day,  we  carried  sail  to  get  a  wide 
berth  from  it,  and  ran  the  old  ship  into  a  school 
of  sperm  whales.  We  lowered  away  our  boats.  The 
fiecoud  mate  fastened,  and  the  whale  sounded,  taking 


SICKNESS  ABOARD.  217 

out  most  of  his  line ;  the  third  mate  ran  down  and 
attached  his  line  to  it,  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  and 
saved  the  whale.  The  whales  in  this  vicinity  plunge 
and  sound  deeply,  when  first  struck.  Half  an  hour 
previous  to  the  second  mate's  fastening,  the  first 
mate  struck  a  fellow  that  carried  ofi;*  all  his  line. 

About  this  time  a  curious  malady  affected  a  number 
of  our  crew,  the  seeds  of  which  were  sown  by  expo- 
sure to  the  rains  and  damp  air  of  the  South  Pacific. 
It  resembled  inflammatory  rheumatism,  causing  ex- 
cruciating pains  in  the  joints,  and  resisting  all  appli- 
cation of  medicine.  I  experienced  the  affection 
myself.  Having  heard  of  the  marvellous  efficacy  of 
the  oil  extracted  from  the  liver  of  the  sun  fish,  I 
urged  the  necessity  of  procuring  some  of  the  article ; 
the  captain,  coinciding  with  me,  lowered  away  a  boat 
and  captured  a  sun  fish.  It  was  a  most  curious  creature, 
almost  without  shape ;  in  weight,  I  think  it  would 
exceed  five  hundred  pounds  ;  it  had  no  scales  and  no 
flukes ;  the  after  portion  of  the  body  appearing  as  if 
unfinished ;  on  each  side  was  a  long  narrow  fin.  The 
skin  was  of  a  brown  color,  and  as  rough  as  sand- 
paper. The  eye  was  most  beautiful,  and  the  largest 
and  clearest  of  any  creature's  that  I  ever  saw.  The 
bones  were  soft,  and  on  being  exposed  to  the  sun 
gradually  melted  away.  The  flesh  is  prepared  with 
vinegar  and  makes  excellent  eating.  The  oil,  ex- 
tracted from  the  liver  by  expression  in  the  sun,  is  of 
a  reddish  color,  and  foetid  smell.  It  proved  of  great 
service  to  me — an  application  to  a  stiff  joint  at  night 
rendering  it  pliant  and  free  from  pain  in  the  morning. 
Long  yarns  are  spun  by  seafaring  men  of  the  won- 
derful properties  of  this  oil ;  they  assuring  me  that 
19 


218  BARQUE   PRINCE    OF   WALES'    CREW. 

a  too  free  use  of  it  was  always  attended  by  salivation, 
and  enjoining  an  application  of  but  a  small  quantity. 
I  used  it  pretty  freely,  but  experienced  no  bad  effect 
from  it. 

On  the  5th  of  October  we  picked  up  a  spruce  plank, 
about  twelve  feet  in  length  and  three  in  breadth ;  it 
was  copper-fastened,  and  was  adjudged  to  be  part  of 
the  keel  of  a  large  ship. 

On  the  ITth  we  ran  in  and  anchored  in  French- 
man's Bay,  intending  to  procure  a  supply  of  water. 
This  bay  is  the  introduction  to  King  George's  Sound, 
and  is  a  safe  and  pleasant  harbor.  "We  lay  within  a 
mile  of  the  shore,  and  from  a  spring  close  to  the 
beach,  procured  three  hundred  barrels  of  most  ex- 
cellent w^ater.  There  were  no  vessels  in  the  bay,  but 
in  the  sound  there  was  an  English  barque,  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  She  brought  out  to  the  sound  materials 
for  the  erection  of  two  light-houses  —  one  on  Point 
Possession,  at  the  entrance  of  the  sound ;  the  other 
on  Breaksea,  at  the  mouth  of  Frenchman's  Bay. 
These  have  long  been  needed  on  the  coast,  and  their 
advent  will  be  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  the 
navigator  in  these  seas.  The  crew  of  this  vessel 
refused  to  proceed  in  her,  alleging  as  a  reason  her 
immoderate  leakage,  asserting  that  she  was  unsafe 
and  unseaworthy.  The  crew,  including  the  second 
mate,  on  the  complaint  of  the  captain,  Avere  arrested 
by  the  authorities,  and  kept  in  durance  vile  until 
such  time  as  the  vessel  should  leave  the  port.  This 
probation  had  now  continued  for  months,  and  as  the 
crew  were  determined  not  to  embark  in  her,  a  new 
crew  was  shipped,  and,  on  the  arrival  of  orders  from 
England,    she   sailed   for   some   port   in   the   AYest 


STROLL   ALONG    THE   BEACH.  219 

Indies.     At  her  departure  her  former  hands  were 
released. 

The  next  day  after  anchoring  was  Sunday,  and  all 
hands  were  bound  for  a  run  ashore.  The  bay  pre- 
sented little  attraction,  but  the  green  appearance  of  the 
veiretation  was  enousrh  to  induce  us  to  have  a  nearer 
look  at  it.  On  landing  we  found  the  country  covered 
with  the  prevailing  bush,  and  as  it  was  in  many 
places  dry  and  inflammable  as  tinder,  we  ignited  it, 
and  had  a  rousing  fire  coursing  up  the  hills  like  a 
demon  in  pursuit  of  prey.  Having  tired  ourselves 
with  this  amusement,  we  ran  along  the  beach  with 
the  intention  of  shaking  the  scurvy  out  of  our  bones  ; 
and  as  we  progressed,  saw  numbers  of  mutton-fish, 
crabs,  and  limpets.  We  gathered  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  these  shell-fish,  roasted  them,  and  had  a  fresh 
mess.  Proceeding  along  the  beach,  over  an  uneven 
ridge  of  boulders,  after  a  walk  of  about  eight  miles, 
we  came  to  the  whale  fishery.  Here  we  found  about 
a  dozen  men,  who  were  engaged  in  a  warfare  against 
the  humpback  and  right  whales  that  resort  to  the 
bay.  They  had  taken,  during  the  season,  two  of  the 
former  and  one  of  the  latter  species,  yielding  them 
one  hundred  and  seventy  barrels  of  oil ;  they  desired 
us  to  set  no  more  bush  afire,  stating  that  the  smoke 
or  glare  of  the  flames  intimidated  the  whales  from 
entering  the  bay.  From  these  people  we  learned 
that  the  ships  Alexander  and  James  Allen  had 
touched  here  but  a  short  time  previous,  and  that 
whilst  here  both  ships  had  lost  men  by  desertion,  and 
that  these  men  were  now  knocking  about  the  town, 
unable  to  procure  employment.  The  James  Allen 
also  lost  an  anchor  here,  in  about  the  same  spot  in 


220  ENGLISH   CLAIM   OF   FISHING  PRIVILEGE. 

which  she  broke  her  windlass  whilst  getting  und-er 
weigh  last  year.  From  all  accounts  her  Hobartown 
crew  had  been  anything  but  orderly  and  obedient, 
BO  that  the  captain  was  glad  to  be  rid  of  them. 
Amongst  the  men  at  the  fishery  there  were  several 
Americans  who  had  been  in  this  section  of  the  world 
for  3^ears;  they  did  not  like  the  country,  and,  if  we 
had  wanted  men,  would  gladly  have  engaged  and 
gone  home  with  us. 

It  is  the  law  of  the  English  government,  that  no 
fishing  shall  be  carried  on  within  three  miles  of  the 
coast  of  colonies.  This  law  is  a  dead  letter  in 
the  Indian  Ocean,  excepting  where  their  fisheries 
exist;  and  I  am  sure  that,  had  whales  made  their 
appearance  in  this  bay  whilst  we  were  present,  our 
boats  would  have  been  down  amongst  them.  The 
men  at  the  fishery  strongly  urged  their  exclusive 
right  to  this  privilege ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  they 
informed  us  that,  a  few  weeks  previous,  the  ship 
Congress,  of  New  Bedford,  had  taken  a  humpback 
whilst  lying  where  we  now  were  ;  for,  having  no 
casks  at  the  fishery,  they  were  necessitated  to  buy 
some  from  the  ship,  and  because  of  this  favor,  they 
had  agreed  not  to  interfere  with  their  prize. 

Eeturning  from  the  fishery,  we  took  a  short  cut 
through  the  bush,  which  is  lower  here  than  any  I  have 
seen  elsewhere  in  Australia  —  no  tree  or  shrub  ap- 
pear! ng  that  was  over  eight  feet  in  height.  Amidst 
the  general  desolation,  beautiful  flowers  of  various  de- 
scriptions and  colors  sprung  up ;  forming  a  strange 
contrast,  and  appearing  as  if  Nature,  to  make  amends 
for  the  general  loneliness  and  negligence  displayed, 


ANT   MOUNDS  —  THE   IGUANA.  221 

had  caused  these  gay  flowers  to  flourish  here,  and 
truly,  as  the  poet  says, 

*'To  waste  their  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 

On  our  way  down,  we  continually  passed  little 
mounds,  shaped  like  beehives,  and  constructed  of 
dried  grass  and  sand,  arranged  to  a  nicety.  At  first 
I  was  at  a  loss  to  tell  the  true  character  of  these 
nests ;  but,  on  knocking  the  top  off  of  one  of  them 
with  my  stick,  I  saw  myriads  of  ants  —  it  being  a 
granary  for  these  insects.  On  being  disturbed,  they 
rushed  hither  and  thither  in  search  of  the  violator  of 
their  domicile,  and  on  discovering  him,  they  ran  up 
his  clothing,  and  bestowed  no  very  gentle  bites  upon 
his  legs  and  body.  They  are  much  larger  than  our 
ants;  and,  unlike  ours,  instead  of  excavating  a  place 
of  retreat,  they  build  it  upon  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 

We  also  saw  and  destroyed  (without  knowing  what 
we  were  killing)  several  iguanas  —  little  creatures  of 
the  lizard  species,  that  abound  here  in  great  numbers. 
They  are  said  to  be  a  fierce  enemy  of  the  serpent 
tribe,  and  to  engage  in  long  and  severe  contests  with 
his  snakeship,  and  always  gain  the  victory — running, 
when  bitten  by  him,  to  a  certain  herb  that  acts  as  a 
specific.  When  we  were  at  Hobartown,  I  was  told 
of  a  man,  named  Underwood,  who  possessed  a  sure 
and  speedy  antidote  for  the  bite  of  any  snake.  The 
government  had  offered  him  a  large  price  for  his 
secret,  but  he  refused  to  divulge  it  on  any  terms. 
He  was  a  convict  of  the  lowest  grade,  and  repre- 
sented that  he  first  discovered  the  antidote  by  ob- 
serving the  iguana  running  to,  and  eating  it,  after 
19* 


222       THE  SNAPPER  A^D  THE  GROPER. 

having  "been  bitten  by  his  foe.  This  remedy,  which 
is  vegetable,  he  states  to  be  very  common.  Its  in- 
fallibility is  implicitly  believed  in  by  the  residents  ; 
and,  from  their  account,  even  a  stranger  cannot  re- 
fuse credence  to  its  worth,  after  listening  to  a  recital 
of  the  many  satisfactory  tests  it  has  been  subjected 
to  by  the  faculty. 

Whilst  we  were  engaged  ashore,  those  who  chose 
to  remain  on  board  the  ship  passed  the  time  in 
angling.  Amongst  other  specimens  of  what  had  been 
caught,  was  one  known  as  the  snapper,  each  weigh- 
ing from  twenty  to  thirty-five  pounds.  They  had 
scales,  and  were  of  a  reddish  color.  Another,  known 
as  the  groper,  from  its  swimming  close  to  the  bot- 
tom, weighs  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds.  It  has  scales  on  its  body,  and  is  black  in 
color.  Both  these  fish  have  ivory  teeth,  from  a 
quarter  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  and 
of  the  same  shape  as  those  of  the  sperm  whale. 
Both  are  good  eating,  salted  or  fresh.  They  require 
a  strong  line  and  stout  arm  to  secure  them.  Beside 
these  members  of  the  finny  tribe,  there  are  also  to  be 
found  here  others  of  less  note:  the  mackerel,  her- 
ring, benita,  salmon,  and  whitings — existing  in  great 
numbers.  We  caught  and  salted  a  barrel  of  them  ; 
but,  from  an  excess  of  salt,  they  were  unpalatable, 
and  we  were  forced  to  heave  them  overboard  when 
we  got  outside. 

On  returning  to  the  beach  to  go  aboard,  we 
discovered  that  one  of  our  party  was  missing.  It 
proved  to  be  a  l^ew  Bedford  boy,  who,  although  his 
name  was  John,  had  been  'yclept  Barney,  from  the 
first  day  of  our  sailing.     He  was  a  good-natured  fel- 


BARNEY   DESERTS  —  IIIS   YOLUXTARY   RETURN.     223 

low,  who  did  not  care  what  name  he  answered  to, 
and  became  more  accustomed  to  his  alias  than  to  his 
true  cognomen.  A  call  for  John  would  pass  un- 
noticed, when  one  for  Barney  would  secure  his  atten- 
tion in  double-quick  time.  Having  no  taste  for 
whaling,  and  being  desirous  of  getting  home  speedily, 
he  had  donned  several  suits  of  clothes,  and  deter- 
mined to  run  for  it.  He  separated  himself  from  the 
rest  of  the  party  soon  after  going  ashore,  and  started 
directly  for  the  town  of  Albany,  where  he  arrived 
at  midnight;  but  finding  those  who  had  left  the  ships 
before  mentioned  in  a  sad  predicament  —  destitute 
and  wretched — he  changed  his  mind,  and  gave  him- 
self up  to  the  captain,  who  was  about  instituting  a 
search,  and  offering  a  reward  for  his  apprehension. 
Two  days  afterward  he  was  aboard  the  ship  again. 

On  the  21st  we  had  all  our  work  done,  but  were 
unable  to  get  to  sea,  being  wind-bound  by  a  heavy 
easterly  gale.  The  mouth  of  the  bay  being  narrow, 
precluded  the  possibility  of  our  beating  out.  The 
gale  gradually  increased ;  but  our  ground-tackle  was 
good,  and,  with  both  anchors  down,  we  rode  it  out. 
On  the  afternoon  of  this  day  the  steamship  Simla 
made  her  appearance.  She  is  a  noble  vessel,  of 
twenty-five  hundred  tons  burden — three  hundred 
and  sixt}^-five  feet  in  length.  Just  before  approach- 
ing the  sound  she  took  the  pilot  aboard,  and  under 
his  guidance  proceeded  in.  Here  she  came  to  anchor 
alongside  the  Larkin,  in  order  to  receive  her  coal  — 
this  being,  after  leaving  Melbourne,  the  first  station 
for  fuel  for  the  line  of  steamships  to  which  she  be- 
longs. They  remain  here  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
bring  hither  and  convey  hence  the  mail  to  and  from 


224        SUPPOSED   LOSS   OF   THE   BARQUE   PACIFIC. 

the  Swan  River  colony.  On  the  morning  after  the 
Simla's  arrival  her  mails  were  opened,  and  hardly 
an  idea  can  be  formed  of  our  surprise  on  seeing  the 
following  announcement  in  a  copy  of  the  Melbourne 
Weekly  Herald :  — 

"  Supposed   Loss   of  the  Wlialing  Barque  Pacific, 
of  Xew  Bedford,  U.  S. 
"  The  following  letter  appeared  in  the  Kelson  Ex- 
.aminer  of  the  16th  ult. : 

"  '  To  the  Editor  of  the  Nehon  Examiner, 

"  *•  Sir  :  —  I  regret  to  inform  you,  that  there  is  too 
much  reason  to  believe  that  the  whaling  barque 
Pacific,  of  ISTew  Bedford,  U.  S.,  foundered  on  the 
western  coast  of  this  Island,  on  the  night  of  the  21st 
of  May  last.  As  the  readiest  means  of  communi- 
cating the  news  to  those  who  are  interested  in  the 
fate  of  the  vessel  and  crew,  I  send  you  a  copy  of  the 
deposition  of  one  of  the  known  survivors,  which  is 
full}^  corroborated  by  the  statements  of  the  rest.  I 
have  ascertained  that  the  Pacific  belonged  to  the 
firm  of  Swift  &  Perry,  of  New  Bedford;  that  she 
had  on  board  three  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  oil 
when  she  was  supposed  to  have  foundered.  The 
names  of  her  officers  were :  John  W.  Sherman,  mas- 
ter; John  Hood,  chief  mate;  John  Dexter,  second 
mate ;  Clarke  Allen,  third  mate.  The  names  of  the 
men  who  landed  on  the  western  coast  were :  Theo- 
dore Jerome,  David  Jones,  "William  Charles  Baylis, 
Joseph  Riley,  William  Anderson,  William  Owen, 
Harvey  William  Miller,  David  Ling. 
" '  Yours,  etc. 

"^L  G.  GOULAIl^D,  Resident  Magistrate. 
"  *  COLLINGWOOD,  September  10th,  1857. 


DEPOSITION   OF  THEODORE   JEROME.  225 

"  *  [Deposition  ahove  referred  to.) 

"  *  Theodore  Jerome,  being  sworn,  said :  I  am  a 
seaman,  and  belonged  to  barque  Pacific,  of  !N'ew  Bed- 
ford ;  Sherman,  master.  The  barque  Pacific  belonged 
to  Swift  &  Perrj,  of  ^N'ew  Bedford.  She  was  a  whaler, 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  tons  burden.  She  left  New 
Bedford  last  June  was  a  twelvemonth.  The  last  port 
we  left  was  Bunbury,  in  ISTew  Holland.  We  put  in 
there  for  supplies,  and  left  in  January  last.  The 
vessel  leaked  considerably  when  we  left  New  Bed- 
ford, but  in  Bunbury  she  was  caulked. 

"'We  made  the  coast  of  New  Zealand  early  in 
February  last.  We  were  whaling  ofl:'  the  coast. 
Shortly  after  making  the  coast  of  New  Zealand  we 
experienced  several  gales  of  wind,  which,  according 
to  the  captain's  opinion,  increased  the  leakage  con- 
siderably. 

"  '  On  the  night  of  the  21st  of  May  the  leakage  in- 
creased considerably,  and  the  pumps  were  kept  con- 
stantly going  till  near  midnight.  The  carpenter 
reported  the  condition  of  the  vessel  to  be  dangerous, 
and  the  captain  thought  it  advisable  to  abandon  her. 
He  called  all  hands  aft,  and  stated  the  condition  of 
the  vessel  to  them,  and  advised  them  to  be  orderly, 
and  to  get  in  their  respective  boats  without  confusion. 
He  turned  to  Mr.  Hood,  the  chief  officer,  and  told 
him  to  put  the  vessel  before  the  wind,  to  make  it 
easier  for  the  boats  to  get  away  from  the  ship's  side. 
The  captain  ordered  Mr.  Allen  to  clear  away  the 
bow-boat,  and  lower  her;  at  the  same  time  a  heavy 
sea  pooped  the  ship,  and  swept  her  fore  and  aft. 
The  vessel  was  by  this  time  settling  by  the  stern. 

P 


226  ACCOUNT    OF   WHAT    BEFEL   THE    PACIFIC. 

There  was  then  an  immediate  rush  for  the  boats  — 
each  man  getting  in  the  first  that  he  could.  I  and 
others  got  into  the  bow-boat.  I  saw  Mr.  Allen,  the 
third  mate,  standing  on  the  rail,  giving  directions 
for  the  lowering  of  the  boat.  I  never  saw  him  after- 
wards. The  boat  that  I  was  in  escaped  from  the 
ship's  side,  and  we  put  her  before  the  wind.  It  was 
about  llj  o'clock  when  w^e  were  called  aft  by  the 
captain.  It  might  have  been  half  an  hour  between 
that  and  the  time  we  got  clear  of  the  ship's  side. 
At  the  time  we  got  into  the  boat  there  was  another 
boat  in  the  act  of  lowering — there  may  have  been 
more,  but  that  is  all  that  I  can  say  positively.  We 
stood  in  towards  the  shore ;  and  made  the  shore,  as 
nearly  as  I  could  judge,  about  3J  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  boat  was  stoven  in  landing.  We  landed 
between  Milford  Haven  and  Open  Bay,  on  the  Mil- 
ford  Haven  side  of  Cascade  Point.  We  had  been 
cruising  off  and  on  the  shore,  and  had  seen  land  the 
previous  day.  We  had  been  into  Milford  Haven 
about  a  fortnight  before  this,  to  get  water.  From 
cruising  oiF  and  on,  and  repeatedly  seeing  the  land, 
I  was  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  coast  to  know 
where  we  landed.  At  break  of  day  we  ascended  a 
hill  to  look  for  the  ship,  but  saw  nothing  of  her  or 
of  the  boats.  The  w^eather  was  very  hazy,  and  it 
rained  heavily  then  and  for  several  days  afterwards ; 
and  we  saw  no  wreck,  either  of  vessel  or  boats.  My 
opinion  is,  that  the  currents  run  outward  from  the 
shore,  and  would  carry  any  wreck  out  to  sea.  It  was 
blowing  a  double-reefed  topsail  breeze  when  we  left 
the  vessel.  The  vessel  appeared  to  be  waterloirged, 
and  was  settling  by  the  stern.     I  think  that  in  all 


HOW  Jerome's  party  got  along.  227 

probability  the  vessel  foundered.  We  remained  where 
we  were  for  one  day,  and  then  endeavored  to  go  to 
the  southward ;  but  the  bush  was  so  thick,  and  ob- 
stacles so  great,  that  we  could  not  get  on  in  that 
direction.  We  then  shaped  our  course  in  the  other 
direction,  towards  Open  Bay ;  that  is,  to  the  north- 
ward of  where  we  landed.  We  found  natives  at 
Open  Bay,  and  remained  with  them  about  a  fort- 
night. A  native  sealing-boat  came  into  Open  Ba}^ 
"while  we  were  there,  and  from  one  of  the  crew,  that 
could  speak  a  little  English,  we  got  directions  that 
enabled  us  to  make  our  way  along  the  coast.  We 
left  Open  Bay,  and  made  the  best  of  our  way  along 
the  coast  to  this  place,  where  we  arrived  yesterday 
evening.  The  names  of  the  persons  who  landed  with 
me  were,  William  Harvey  Miller,  David  Ling,  Joseph 
Eiley,  W.  C.  Baylis,  William  or  John  Owen,  William 
Anderson,  and  David  Jones.  Miller  and  Ling  have 
not  yet  arrived.  We  left  Ling,  who  is  a  boy  about 
eighteen  years  old,  with  the  native  sealers  at  Open 
Bay.  The  natives  told  us  that  the  roads  were  so  bad, 
that  he  would  not  be  able  to  travel.  Miller's  feet 
were  too  sore  to  walk,  and  he  remained  behind. 
We  found  the  road  very  difficult.  We  crossed  several 
rivers ;  among  others,  the  Mewera  and  Kawatiri  — 
the  names  we  got  from  the  natives.  Whenever  we 
met  with  any  natives,  they  proved  very  kind  to  us : 
they  fed  us,  and  gave  us  food  to  take  on  with  us  — 
this,  with  fern,  shellfish,  and  whatever  we  could  get, 
enabled  us  to  live  on  the  journey.  I  cannot  remem- 
ber the  names  of  all  the  persons  aboard :  but  I  can 
of  a  good  many  of  them ;  und  of  the  officers,  the 
captain's  name  was  Sherman  —  I   don't  know  his 


228    FALSITY  OF  JEROME'S  ACCOUNT  —  ITS  AUTHOR. 

Christian  name ;  the  chief  mate's  name  was  Hood ; 
the  second  mate's,  Dexter;  and  the  third  mate's, 
Allen.  There  was  also  an  acting  fourth  mate  and 
boatsteerer,  whose  name  I  do  not  remember.  The 
number  of  officers  and  crew  was  thirty-two.  I  am 
inclined  to  think,  that  if  any  of  the  other  boats 
escaped,  and  had  any  of  the  officers  aboard,  they 
would  shape  their  course  to  the  nearest  port  —  that 
is,  Jacob's  River. 

<' '  (Signed) 

"^THEODOEE  JEEOME. 

"*  Sworn   before   me,  at  Collingwood,  the  tenth 
day  of  September,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-seven. 
" '  (Signed) 

"'H.  G.  GOULAISTD, 
"  *  Besident  Magistrate.'  " 

It  is  almost  needless  to  append,  in  explanation,  that 
the  above  is  a  tissue  of  falsehoods,  fabricated  by 
the  deserters  from  our  ship,  whilst  in  the  South 
Pacific.  Their  story  is  plausible ;  and,  were  a  per- 
son not  aware  to  the  contrary,  it  would  obtain  im- 
plicit credence.  It  was  concocted  by  the  one  named 
Joseph  Riley.  He  is  a  native  of  New  Jersey  —  of 
Irish  extraction.  He  has  been  for  years  in  the  mer- 
chant service ;  and  this,  united  with  a  previous  voy- 
age whaling,  rendered  him  well  acquainted  with 
maritime  aflPairs :  hence,  he  found  little  difficulty  in 
weaving  a  3'arn  that  sounded  plausible  enough,  al- 
though there  is  not  a  particle  of  truth  in  the  whole 
account  —  our  old  ship  never  having  leaked,  during 
the  continuance  of  the  voyage  thus  far,  more  than 
enough  to  keep  her  sweet;    only  requiring  to  be 


STORY   FABRICATED    BY   DESERTERS.  229 

pumped  once  a  week,  and  then  but  for  a  few  mi- 
nutes. The  carpenter  is  an  imaginary  personage  — 
we  never  having  possessed  one  :  one  was  shipped  in 
IS'ew  Bedford,  but  ran  away  before  we  sailed.  The 
person,  who,  under  the  name  of  Theodore  Jerome, 
made  the  deposition  before  the  magistrate  at  Colling- 
wood,  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  reality  John  Ko- 
berts,  a  London  cockney,  who  had  been  transported 
to  Australia.  He  had  been  in  the  Henry  H.  Crapo 
for  twelve  months,  but  left  her  in  Vasse,  and  en- 
gaged with  us ;  thus  escaping  the  fate  of  the  crew 
of  that  vessel,  to  live  and  play  a  rascal's  part  in  an- 
other clime.  The  true  Theodore  Jerome  is  still  on 
board  our  ship,  and  justly  indignant  at  the  liberties 
taken  with  his  name.  The  fact  of  their  assuming  it 
is  attributable  to  their  having  in  their  possession  an 
American  protection,  bearing  the  name  of  Theodore 
Jerome.  Roberts  is  the  only  one  of  the  party  whose 
description  corresponds  with  that  contained  in  it; 
and  hence  we  suppose  him  to  be  the  person  who 
made  the  affidavit.  He  is  weak-minded,  with  little 
intelligence,  and  totally  incapable  of  giving  such  an 
account ;  except  at  the  instigation  of  a  person  like 
Riley,  and  afterwards  being  well  drilled,  until  he 
was  perfected  in  his  part.  The  other  names  were 
real ;  or,  rather,  a  part  were  those  of  our  crew,  whilst 
the  rest,  Owen,  Anderson,  and  Ling,  were  the  names 
of  the  deserters  from  the  barque  Lady  Emma,  of 
Hobartown,  whom  our  fellows  took  aboard  their  boat 
at  Open  Bay.  From  their  own  account,  they  had 
pretty  rough  travelling ;  but  the  descriptive  part,  like 
the  substance  of  their  narrative,  may  be  more  ro- 
mance than  reality.  But,  apart  from  this,  let  us 
20 


2B0     BAD  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FALSE  REPORT. 

candidly  judge  their  culpability.  In  the  first  place, 
no  doubt,  they  were  driven  to  an  extremity  by  hun- 
ger and  suffering ;  and,  knowing  that,  as  deserters, 
they  would  meet  Avith  no  sympathy,  in  such  emer- 
gency^ they  concocted  this  method  to  obtain  relief  for 
their  necessities:  but  why  did  they  not,  if  such  was 
their  intention,  substitute  a  fictitious  name  for  that 
of  our  ship,  and  avoid  particularizing  as  they  did  ? 
Secondly,  should  any  amount  of  personal  suffering 
induce  men  to  embitter  for  months  the  whole  tenor 
of  the  existence  of  many  happy  circles,  who,  on  the 
reception  of  such  fatal  news  through  relatives  and 
friends,  without  any  rebutting  information  on  the 
subject,  would  at  once  set  us  down  as  irrecoverably 
lost? 

Here  was  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish — some  thirty-two 
of  us  consigned  to  the  tender  mercies  of  David  Jones, 
Esq.,  the  hereditary  enemy  of  our  profession,  with  as 
little  remorse  as  if  we  were  so  many  kittens;  but, 
fortunately,  the  same  mail  that  conveyed  the  papers 
containing  the  baleful  news,  gave  us  opportunity  to 
send  our  own  missives  explanatory  of  the  proceed- 
ings ;  but  then  our  letters  from  Hobartown,  in  July, 
were  sufficient  evidence  of  our  safety;  so  that, 
although  it  might  create  some  uneasiness,  it  would 
be  but  evanescent. 

Some  months  before  we  touched  at  Frenchman's 
Bay,  one  of  our  boatsteerers  received  a  letter  from 
his  family,  in  which  was  contained  the  report  of  a 
vessel  having  been  seen  by  a  merchantman  in  the 
South  Atlantic,  bottom  up.  She  was  evidently  a 
whaler,  a  barque,  and  bore  on  her  stern  the  name  of 
Pacific,  IS'ew  Bedford.     This  w^as  thought  to  be  us. 


DEPARTURE   FROM   FRENCHMAN'S   BAY.  231 

and  thus  onr  ol(i  ship  was  given  up  to  the  mercies 
of  that  ocean  over  which  she  had  so  gallantly  rode 
for  more  than  half  a  century,  and,  as  far  as  I  am  able 
to  judge,  still  rides  as  proudl}-  as  in  her  palmiest 
days  —  carrying  her  spars  as  jauntily  as  any  of  the 
constructions  of  shipwrights  of  the  present  day. 

At  10  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  the  gale 
having  moderated  and  the  wind  shifted  to  a  favor- 
able quarter,  we  took  our  departure  from  French- 
man's Bay.  When  directly  opposite  Baldhead  we 
saw  right  and  humpback  whales,  bound  up  the  bay. 
We  lowered  aw^ay,  but  could  get  nowhere  near  them. . 
They  saw  them  from  the  fishery  but  met  with  like 
success  in  their  attempt  to  capture  one. 


232   MUTINY  ABOARD  THE  BARQUE  CHEROKEE. 


CHAPTER    X, 


We  now  direeted  our  ship's  head  to  the  westward, 
and  fell  in  with  the  barques  Cherokee  and  Pamelia. 
The  former  had  sailed  from  home  some  two  years 
previous;  but,  mutiny  breaking  out  amongst  her 
crew,  she  was  run  into  Mauritius,  and  all  the  fore- 
mast hands  discharged.  The  captain  shipped  a  new 
crew,  and  was  scarce  a  whit  more  fortunate  in  his 
selection ;  as  a  number  of  rough  alleys,  hearing  of  his 
reputation  as  a  harsh  man,  determined  to  ship  with 
him,  in  order,  as  they  said,  to  work  him  up.  At  the 
time  they  shipped  they  were  informed  that  they  were 
engaged,  not  as  sailors,  but  as  whalemen.  Soon  after 
they  got  outside,  an  order  was  passed  from  the  quarter- 
deck to  make  spun  yarn,  which  they  refused  to  do, 
repeating  the  terms  of  their  engagement.  The  cap- 
tain was  forced  to  succumb,  and,  consequently,  cap- 
tain and  crew  were  at  variance  during  the  remainder 
of  their  stay  together.  A  boat's  crew  from  her  came 
aboard  our  vessel.  They  were  powerful,  manly 
fellows — every  one  a  thorough  seaman,  competent  to 
perform  his  duty  anywhere.  Some  months  after  we 
gammoned  her  she  touched  at  Vasse,  and  set  several 
of  the  ringleaders  ashore. 

Aboard  the  Pamelia  we  found  Mr.  Edwards,  our 
former  second  officer,  acting  in  the  same  capacity 
there.     Her  mate  having  left  at  Yasse,  and  gone 


LETTERS   FROM    HOME   BY   THE    PAMELIA.  233 

home  in  the  Dolphin,  her  former  second  mate  took 
his  berth,  and  Mr.  Edwards  the  one  left  vacant  by 
his  promotion.  Her  crew  seemed  to  us  like  old 
friends,  and  were  greeted  as  such.  They  had  been 
cruising  on  this  coast  ever  since  our  departure, 
had  been  very  successful,  and  anticipated  a  speedy 
return  home.  Their  third  mate  had  been  taken  very 
ill  aboard  the  ship,  and  they  had  but  a  short  time 
previously  touched  at  Yasse  for  the  purpose  of  leaving 
him,  supposing  that  he  could  receive  better  attention 
ashore.  Soon  after  they  spoke  the  ship  Canton,  and 
were  informed  of  his  death.  How  the  report  origi- 
nated I  know  not;  for,  in  the  follow^ing  January, 
when  we  touched  at  that  port,  he  was  alive  and  well, 
and  had  been  amusing  himself  kangaroo  hunting. 

The  Pamelia  brought  us  letters  that  had  been 
received  by  mail  at  Vasse.  As  I  was  one  of  the 
fortunate  ones,  I  was  much  gratified  at  receiving 
good  news  from  home,  and  had  my  mind  set  at  rest 
regarding  the  welfare  of  all  my  friends  for  another 
year. 

On  the  3d  of  November  we  lowered  away  for 
blackfish,  of  which  the  waist-boat  captured  one.  A 
breeze  springing  up,  the  boats  set  their  sails.  The 
starboard-boat,  by  the  carelessness  of  her  manager, 
was  capsized  whilst  merrily  gliding  along  in  pursuit 
of  the  fish,  and  her  occupants,  of  whom  I  was  one, 
got  a  ducking.  When  the  boat  went  over,  I  was 
caught  by  the  backstay  that  secured  the  mast,  and 
had  some  difficulty  in  disentangling  myself  under 
water.  The  waist  boat  ran  down,  picked  us  up, 
and  put  us  aboard  the  ship,  where  the  whole 
afifair  was  mcvde  ^  subject  of  laughter:  this  view 
20* 


234  NEED    OF   AN  ALCOHOLIC   STIMULUS. 

always  being  taken  of  an  accident  to  a  boat  wbere 
no  person  is  seriously  injured. 

On  Sunday,  November  the  8th,  we  sighted  sperm 
whales,  and  though  the  weather  was  foggy  and  dis- 
agreeable, the  boats  were  lowered ;  but,  after  being 
down  all  the  forenoon,  we  returned  at  1  o'clock,  and 
ate  dinner.  At  half  past  one  we  dropped  boats  again, 
when  the  waist-boat  fastened  to  an  immense  whale, 
w^hich  ran  very  rapidly ;  but  he  soon  began  to  spout 
thick  blood,  and  we  counted  him  as  ours.  On  the 
appearance  of  blood,  the  bow-boat  cut  her  line,  and 
came  aboard.  The  captain,  observing  that  the  whale 
continued  on  in  his  course,  lowered  away,  and  lanced 
him  also  ;  but  still  he  would  not  turn  up,  although 
incessantly  discharging  blood  from  his  spout-holes 
and  the  various  lance-wounds  in  his  body.  ^Night 
approached,  and  still  the  whale  kept  going  ahead. 
The  rain  was  descending  in  torrents,  whilst  not  the 
slightest  vestige  of  a  breeze  rippled  the  surface  of 
the  water ;  so  the  boats,  together  with  their  locomo- 
tive attachment,  were  gradually  widening  their  dis- 
tance from  the  ship.  Directly  after  nightfall,  the 
captain  returned  with  his  boat,  leaving  directions  for 
the  others  to  keep  up  good  lights  in  their  boat- 
lanterns  ;  so  that  we  might  very  easily  know  their 
whereabouts.  On  arriving  aboard,  the  bow-boat  was 
dispatched  with  refreshments  and  a  couple  of  bottles 
of  New  England  rum,  to  revive  those  who  had  been 
sitting  in  their  boats  drenched  to  the  skin;  and, 
surely,  if  there  ever  was  a  moment  when  men  needed 
an  alcoholic  stimulus  to  enable  them  to  withstand 
exposure,  it  was  on  this  occasion.  Just  after  the 
bow-boat  left,  w^e  lost  sight  of  the  light  of  the  boat- 


BOATS    CUT    LOOSE   FROM   A   SPERM    WHALE.       235 

lantern  in  the  distance,  and  did  not  recover  it 
again  until  midnight,  when  we  discovered  the  boats 
coming  toward  us,  with  tlie  dead  body  of  the  whale, 
as  we  believed,  in  tow ;  but  were  chagrined  to  tind 
that  they  had  cut  from  him,  which,  unavoidable  as 
it  was,  was  far  from  being  pleasant,  after  the  trouble 
and  pains-taking  he  had  caused  us.  They  stated, 
that  they  were  out  of  sight  of  the  ship's  light;  that 
the  whale  showed  no  more  signs  of  exhaustion  than 
at  sunset ;  and,  as  the  weather  looked  very  threaten- 
ing, there  appeared  to  be  no  other  recourse  left  them 
but  to  return :  so,  after  a  consultation,  in  which  all 
hands  were  included,  the  line,  not  however  without 
many  regrets,  was  severed,  and  the  monster  allowed 
to  go  on  his  way,  and  die  alone  —  his  surviving  more 
than  a  few  hours  being  out  of  the  question. 

The  bow-boat,  after  leaving  the  ship's  side,  pulled 
in  the  direction  where  the  boat-lights  had  last  ap- 
peared ;  but  it  was  not  until  after  they  had  cut  from 
the  fish,  that  they  found  the  other  boats,  whose  men, 
from  their  fatiguing  duty  and  benumbed  members, 
were  not  just  then  particularly  delighted  at  the  idea 
of  pulling  ten  or  twelve  miles  back  without  refresh- 
ment :  they  therefore  hailed  the  arrival  of  the  bow- 
boat  with  acclamation.  They  hove  up ;  and,  after 
having  satisfied  their  appetites,  the  bottle  was  passed 
around,  and  each  indulged  in  a  hearty  swig:  then, 
with  renewed  vigor,  they  bent  to  their  oars,  and 
regained  the  vessel. 

This  unfortunate  result  would  not  have  occurred 
had  we  had  the  least  breeze,  to  keep  anywhere  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  boats ;  nor,  had  there  been 
land  anywhere  within  a  reasonable  distance,   the 


236  CONJECTURES   ABOUT   THE  WHALE. 

mate,  who  in  no  wise  lacks  energ}^,  would  not  have 
cut ;  but,  under  the  circumstances,  he  acted  with 
discrimation  in  withdrawing  the  boats  whilst  there 
was  a  chance  of  their  doing  so  with  safety.  No 
doubt,  had  he  remained  attached  to  the  whale,  it 
would  have  been  as  difficult  for  us  to  find  our  boats 
the  succeeding  day  as  it  was  to  find  the  carcass  of 
the  fish,  which,  despite  our  utmost  endeavors  —  tho- 
roughly going  over  the  ground  —  we  never  after- 
wards saw. 

How  it  was  that  this  whale  sustained  life  so  long, 
whilst  the  vital  current  was  swiftly  escaping  from 
his  system,  it  is  difficult  to  account  for.  He  was 
lanced  in  the  same  place  as  other  whales  we  had 
taken,  and  w^hich  expired  in  the  course  of  several 
hours.  It  was  done,  too,  by  men  who  were  no 
novices,  either  in  handling  tJie  lance,  or  in  combat- 
ing the  whale.  J^ot  a  few  shook  their  heads,  myste- 
riously ;  and  one,  in  a  spirit  of  confidence,  broadly 
stated  to  me,  that  the  creature  was  not  a  whale,  but 
Lucifer  himself,  who  had  assumed  this  form  to  puz- 
zle mankind;  and  hence  he  accounted  for  the  tena- 
citj^  of  life  displayed.  This  opinion,  of  course,  I 
could  not  subscribe  to ;  but  I  found  it  futile  to  attemjit 
to  satisfy  my  superstitious  shipmate  that  all  might 
be  produced  by  natural  causes.  My  opinion  being, 
that  the  whale  was  of  such  a  prodigious  size,  (every 
man  who  was  in  the  boats  stating  him  to  have  been 
the  largest  of  the  cachelot  species  they  had  ever  seen,) 
and  his  vitals  were  covered  with  so  thick  a  coat  of 
blubber,  that  the  lances  were  of  insufficient  length 
to  deal  a  mortal  wound.  This  view  of  the  matter, 
after    many   arguments,  pro   and   con,   was   finally 


KILLING  A  SHARK — THE   GRAMPUS.  237 

adopted,  as   being   the  most  probable  of  any  ad- 
vanced. 

After  remaining  on  this  ground  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  assure  ourselves  of  the  improbability  of 
picking  up  the  wounded  whale,  we  proceeded  to  the 
northward,  hoping  to  be  more  successful  off  the  capes 
Chatham  and  Leuwin.  Our  passage  up  was  un- 
marked with  incident,  except  the  capture  of  a  large 
shark,  and  the  picking  up  of  a  dead  grampus  of  the 
variety  known  as  the  bottle-nose.  The  shark's  cap- 
ture is  worthy  of  mention  merely  for  the  method  we 
adopted  to  kill  him.  He  was  struck  and  hauled  in, 
and  beat  over  the  head  with  a  heavy  handspike.  The 
forge  being  up,  and  a  good  fire  burning  in  it,  a  bar 
of  iron  was  heated,  and  run  directly  through  his 
heart,  with  but  little  apparent  effect;  for  he  still  con- 
tinued to  lash  his  flukes,  and  set  his  jaws  upon  a 
piece  of  pine  board,  to  which  he  held  fast.  His  head 
was  then  cut  off,  and  his  skin  removed ;  yet  every 
member  of  his  body  still  retained  the  power  of  motion. 

The  grampus  is  a  most  beautiful  fish — the  hand- 
somest in  form  of  the  many  inhabitants  of  the 
deep  that  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  see.  On  account 
of  their  shyness,  there  is  great  difficulty  in  approach- 
ing these  fish  when  alive,  and  consequently  very  few 
are  taken :  even  in  the  whaling  career,  seldom  does 
a  seaman  have  an  opportunity  of  examining  one  on 
deck.  The  one  in  our  possession  was  about  twent}"- 
five  feet  long,  and  as  much  around  the  bilge.  His 
skin  was  smooth,  of  a  shining  black  color.  His  head 
gradually  sloped,  until  it  ended  in  a  long  pointed 
jaw,  resembling  that  of  the  porpoise,  but  which,  un- 
like that  of  most  other,  fish  in  these  waters,  was  not 


238       BOATSTEEREE  PITCHED  ON  A  WHALE'S  HEAD. 

furnished  with  teeth.  'No  mark,  accounting  for  his 
death,  was  found  upon  the  body :  doubtless,  he  died 
from  some  disease  peculiar  to  the  species.  The  blub- 
ber was  several  inches  thick,  which  on  being  tried 
out  yielded  three  barrels  of  colorless,  inodorous  oil. 

We  remained  off  Cape  Leuwin  but  a  short  time. 
Seeing  a  large  lone  sperm  whale,  we  lowered  away 
for  him,  in  company  with  the  boats  of  the  barque 
Pamelia ;  but  we  did  not  succeed  in  capturing  him. 
We  then,  accompanied  by  said  barque,  again  steered 
for  our  old  ground  to  the  southward. 

On  Sunday,  December  6th,  just  as  we  had  arrived 
in  our  latitude  for  cruising,  we  sighted  a  large  lone 
sperm  whale,  at  9J  o'clock  in  the  morning;  and  by 
ten  —  the  hour  when  well-behaved  folks  in  civilized 
countries  are  wending  their  way  to  church  —  we  were 
deep  in  the  encounter.  He  occasioned  us  but  little 
trouble :  the  first  mate  fastening  to,  and  killing  him 
before  the  other  boats  could  reach  the  scene  of  action, 
though  all  pulled  with  a  will.  At  the  moment  of  dart- 
ing the  harpoon,  the  whale  struck  the  boat  with  his 
head,  knocking  a  small  hole  through  her  bows,  and 
pitching  the  boatsteerer,  who  was  standing  up,  over 
the  prow  of  his  boat  upon  the  top  of  the  whale's 
elevated  huge  head ;  but  the  imperilled  man,  with  a 
nimble  spring,  quickly  regained  his  legitimate  posi- 
tion in  the  boat,  where  he  very  probably  felt  much 
more  comfortable  than  mounted  on  such  a  Pegasus. 
This  was  a  noble  fish,  and  yielded  us  over  one  hun- 
dred barrels  of  sperm  oil,  valued,  at  the  time  we  left 
home,  at  about  sixty  dollars  a  barrel ;  making,  in  the 
aggregate,  the  snug  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars.  A 
\erj  creditable  day's  work :  but,  then,  it  has  to  be 


PURSUIT   AND   CAPTUnE    OF   VrHALES.  239 

divided  into  so  many  shares,  that  those  who  undergo 
the  peril  and  discomforts  of  making  the  capture  come 
in  for  the  smallest  portion  of  the  gain.  The  ship- 
owners, sitting  at  ease  in  Is"ew  Bedford,  grasp  thou- 
sands, whilst  Jack  and  his  coadjutors  can  reckon 
their  proportion  w^ithout  very  largely  intruding  on 
the  scores.  Thus  it  is  throughout  the  world :  he 
who  does  least,  is  paid  best.  Intellect  overbalances 
mere  physical  exertion ;  and  thus  it  ever  will,  and 
ever  should  do  in  the  promotion  of  great  enterprises. 
On  the  14th  we  again  met  whales,  which  were  not 
seen  until  within  the  ship's  length  of  us.  Our  boats 
were  lowered  away  in  haste.  A  moment  afterwards, 
those  of  the  Paraelia,  who  was  not  more  than  a  mile 
distant  from  us,  were  also  in  the  water.  Our  bow- 
boat  fastened  ten  minutes  after  striking  the  water, 
and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the  whale  was  dead, 
and  ours.  The  remaining  boats  continued  in  pur- 
suit of  the  school,  and  got  near  enough  to  enable  the 
boatsteerers  to  dart,  though  at  long  distances,  and 
without  producing  any  other  eftect  than  a  pricking 
of  the  prey,  at  which  they  raised  up  their  huge  bodies, 
and  with  their  flukes  thrashed  the  sea  all  around 
them  into  a  boisterous  foam.  Finding  it  useless  to 
continue  the  pursuit,  the  boats  came  aboard,  and 
the  ship's  head  was  put  in  the  direction  of  the  w^hales. 
We  then  proceeded  to  cut  in.  The  Pamelia,  mean- 
time, ran  down  to  us;  when,  with  a  disinterestedness 
uncommon  to  rival  whalemen,  our  captain  informed 
hers  of  the  direction  in  which  the  whales  had  gone. 
Kot  being  encumbered,  as  we  were,  with  a  whale 
in  tow,  she  soon  passed  us.  An  hour  afterwards  we 
saw  her  lower  away  and  capture  a  whale,  which,  as 


240       THIRD   WHALE   LOST  DURING   THE   SEASON. 

ours  done  for  ns,  yielded  in  the  neighborhood  of  one 
hundred  barrels  of  oil:  the  whales  of  this  ground 
all  averaging  about  the  same  quantity.  They  are 
larger,  in  general,  than  I  have  seen  them  in  lower 
latitudes,  besides  being  always  in  better  condition 
than  when  found  in  a  warmer  climate,  and  their 
blubber  on  the  application  of  heat  almost  wholly 
dissolving  into  oil. 

On  the  19th  we  again  saw  the  same  school.  At  5 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  waist-boat  fastened,  was 
stoven  by  the  whale's  flukes,  and  her  crew  obliged  to 
swim  for  their  lives,  when  they  were  picked  up  by 
the  starboard-boat,  and  carried  to  the  ship.  The 
other  boat  then  went  on  to  the  whale,  and  her  boat- 
steerer  darted  at  him  half-a-dozen  times  in  succes- 
sion, but  without  effect.  Night  approaching,  we  were 
compelled  to  desist.  Early  the  next  morning  we  saw 
a  large  whale  alone  —  lowered,  and  the  w^aist-boat 
fastened.  She  continued  attached  for  some  time, 
when,  her  line  being  nearly  run  out,  the  larboard 
boat's  was  bent  on  to  it.  By  mistake,  a  line  that 
liad  been  exposed  to  the  weather,  had  been  put  into 
the  waist-boat,  in  lieu  of  her  line  that  was  carried 
off  the  day  before.  The  mate,  finding  that  his  own 
line  was  fast  running  out,  attached  a  drug  to  it  — 
hoping  that  by  its  resistance  in  the  water  the  whale 
would  be  to  some  extent  forced  to  moderate  his 
soundings.  The  old  line,  unable  to  endure  the  strain 
caused  by  the  drug,  parted;  and  away  the  whale 
went  to  windward  eyes  out,  with  a  speed  that,  to 
the  chagrin  of  all,  defied  pursuit.  So,  here  was  the 
third  whale,  this  season,  lost  by  the  one  boat.  On 
reviewing  this  journal,  it  will  be  seen  in  the  pre- 


SINGULAR  FATALITY  OF  THE  WAIST-BOAT.         241 

ceding  pages,  that  a  singular  fatality  has  attended 
all  the  operations  of  this  boat  since  we  left  home. 
"When  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Edwards,  (our 
former  second  officer,  and  as  good  a  whaleman  as 
ever  stepped  into  the  head  of  a  whaleboat,)  she  was 
capsized.  Under  her  present  manager,  she  had  her 
line  taken  by  a  whale,  off  Cape  Chatham,  where  she 
was  also  capsized.  In  the  Bight,  the  whale  was  only 
saved  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  bow-boat  with  its 
line.  The  large  whale  that  went  off  spouting  blood, 
was  fastened  to  from  her;  the  whale  of  yesterday, 
that  capsized  her;  and  that  of  to-day,  that  parted 
her  line  —  go  to  make  up  a  catalogue  of  misfortunes 
that  the  annals  of  whaling-voyages  can  scarcely 
equal.  And  all  her  disasters  —  capsizing,  losing  her 
whale,  losing  her  line,  and  being  stoven  —  arose, 
not  from  incapacity  on  the  part  of  her  officers,  but 
from  a  combination  of  unforeseen  circumstances, 
which  it  would  have  been  in  vain  for  the  most 
experienced  whaleman  to  guard  against. 

On  the  last  day  of  December  we  experienced  the 
initiation  of  a  gale,  which  lasted,  in  incessant  vio- 
lence, until  the  6th  of  January,  '58,  but  doing  no 
injury  to  us,  further  than  shipping  a  heavy  sea  that 
cleared  away  our  gangway,  and  deluged  our  decks, 
fore  and  aft,  without  so  much  as  saying,  "  By  your 
leave."  We  kept  on  one  tack,  heading  constantly 
to  the  north  and  westward. 

On  the  10th  we  sighted  Baldhead  but  a  short  dis- 
tance off.  We  stood  in  for  it;  and  in  the  evening 
the  captain  lowered  away,  and  proceeded,  through 
Frenchman's  Bay  and  the  Sound,  to  the  town  of 
Albany :  the  ship  standing  off  and  on,  with  the  cable 
21  Q 


242  EVIDENCES   OF  A   SHIPWRECK. 

bent  on  to  the  larboard  anchor,  so  as  to  be  ready  to 
let  go  in  case  of  emergency.  In  the  bay  we  found 
at  anchor  the  barque  Margaret,  of  Liverpool,  from 
Adelaide  for  Mauritius.  She  had  sprung  her  miz- 
zenmast  in  the  recent  severe  westerly  gale,  and,  the 
wind  being  directly  in  her  teeth,  she  put  in  here  for 
shelter.  On  getting  into  the  sound  they  found  that 
the  Prince  of  Wales  had  sailed  for  Callao,  and  there- 
fore her  crew  were  at  liberty.  Most  of  the  hangers- 
on  that  had  composed  part  of  the  population,  when 
we  last  were  here,  had  departed  in  the  American 
ship  Kensington.  This  ship  had  as  passengers  three 
hundred  Chinamen,  who  intended  landing  at  some 
port  in  these  colonies;  but,  on  account  of  a  legis- 
lative enactment  forbidding  the  ingress  of  these  peo- 
ple into  the  country,  she  had  already  met  with  great 
difficulty  in  getting  rid  of  them. 

A  day  or  two  before  our  arrival,  the  natives  came 
into  the  town,  with  portions  of  cotton  canvass,  and 
numbers  of  spermaceti  candles.  They  reported  that 
fragments  of  casks  and  barrels  were  strewed  around 
the  beach  in  every  direction.  The  fact  of  her  carry- 
ing cotton  canvass  augurs  that  the  wreck  must  have 
been  an  American  vessel,  as  those  of  other  nations 
carry  hemp  almost  exclusively.  These  evidences  of 
shipwreck  were  found  on  a  part  of  the  coast  contigu- 
ous to  the  White  Top  Rocks,  which  is  justly  ac- 
counted a  most  dangerous  locality,  and  has  in  more 
than  one  instance  been  the  theater  of  similar  dis- 
asters. 

And  now  I  shall  touch  on  another  subject,  which 
reflects  but  little  credit  on  the  parties  concerned, 
either  as  Americans,  or  as  honest  men.    It  is  simply 


THE  PAMELIA  DENOUNCED   FOR   SMUGGLING.       243 

this:  — At  the  sound  our  captain  found  a  letter  from 
the  consular  agent  at  Freemantle,  directed  to  the 
captain  of  any  American  whaler  who  might  first 
touch  at  the  port.  The  purport  of  the  missive  formed 
a  caution  to  the  barque  Pamelia's  master  not  to 
enter  any  port  in  the  Australian  colonies,  as  her 
smuggling  tobacco  on  her  last  visit  to  Yasse  had 
been  divulged,  and  vessel  and  cargo  thereby  forfeited 
to  the  crown.  The  other  party  concerned,  to  whom 
the  tobacco  had  been  delivered,  and  placed  aboard  the 
brig  Champion,  had  had  his  brig  seized,  and  was 
heavily  mulcted  beside,  for  his  part  in  the  nefarious 
transaction.  He  is  a  man  well  to  do,  and  at  the  time 
of  the  smuggling  was  fulfilling  heavy  contracts  with 
the  English  government ;  supplying  them  with  tim- 
ber for  the  construction  of  the  railroad  from  Ade- 
laide to  Melbourne. 

This  is  no  unusual  method  of  turning  a  penny, 
amongst  those  who  visit  this  coast ;  and  I  have  seen 
more  than  one  instance  of  it.  In  some  cases,  the  autho- 
rities wink  at  the  fraud  committed  against  the  govern- 
ment; and,  as  the  party  who  is  fortunate  enough  to 
escape  conviction  trebles  or  quadruples  the  amount 
of  his  outlay,  the  temptation  is  strong  to  engage  in 
the  illicit  traffic. 

Beside  this  budget  of  shipping  news,  it  was  said  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Albany,  that  gold  in  considerable 
quantities  had  been  discovered  by  shepherds,  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant  in  the  interior,  and 
that  a  party  was  preparing  to  visit  this  El  Dorado. 

At  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  the  boat 
returned ;  and,  bracing  forward,  we  stood  to  the 
westward,  in  hopes  of  seeing  the  Pamelia  before  she 


244      THE   PAMELIA   SPOKEN  —  INSUBOEDINATION. 

went  into  port ;  for  we  knew  that  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  her  captain  to  touch  at  Vasse  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  present  month.    On  our  passage  we  fell  in 
with  the  barque  Eagle,  of  New  Bedford.     She  was 
employed  in  cutting  a  whale  she  had  taken  the  day- 
previous,  and,  as  the  weather  was  anything  but  good, 
she  was  having  a  dirty  time.  We  afterwards  learned 
that  she  had  lost  the  greater  part  of  the  head  in  the 
operation.     After  a  short  time  spent  in  company 
with  her,  and  learning  that  the  Pamelia  had  been 
seen  a  few  days  before,  we  resumed  our  course,  and 
the  day  succeeding  spoke  her,  and  communicated  the 
intelligence  we  had  received  at  Albany.  It  was  timely, 
too,  as  they  were  now  bound  in,  and  twenty-four 
hours*  delay  might  have  been  productive  of  serious 
consequences.     On  the  18th,  her  captain,  knowing 
full  well  that  to  enter  a  port  in  the  vicinity  would  be 
madness,  made  himself  dependent  upon  the  various 
ships  on  the  ground  to  contribute  a  quota  in  the  sup- 
ply of  water,  &c.,  to  enable  him  to  take  a  short 
cruise,  and  reach  the  Mauritius.     In  pursuance  of 
this  idea,  on  the  same  day  a  raft  of  casks,  in  tow  of 
one  of  the  Pamelia's  boats,  was  brought  alongside 
of  our  vessel,  and  made  fast ;  then,  according  to  or- 
ders, they  were  hoisted  in.  Our  crew  had  an  inkling 
of  the   affair,   but  said   nothing,   until  they   were 
ordered  by  the  first  officer  to  fill  these  casks,  belong- 
ing to  another  ship,  with  the  water  from  our  own 
casks,  which  it  had  caused  us  so  much  labor  and 
trouble  to  procure,  and  which  would  have  to  be  re- 
placed from  one  of  the  wells  on  the  coast,  under  a 
burning  sun,  and  through  scorching  sand.     Under 
these  circumstances,  a  flat  refusal  was  accorded  to 


UNPOPULARITY  OF  CAPTAIN  OF  THE  PAMELIA.      245 

the  order;  because  we  did  not  deem  that  our  engage- 
ment obliged  us  to  supply  another  ship  with  water, 
unless  she  was  in  absolute  distress.  All  hands  aboard, 
except  the  first  and  second  ofiicers,  united  in  this 
view  of  the  case.  The  mate  expostulated,  but  found 
it  useless.  A  messenger  or  spokesman  was  then 
dispatched  to  the  captain,  who  acted  with  modera- 
tion; and  the  whole  matter  was  amicably  adjusted 
by  the  captain  of  the  Pamelia  complying  with  our 
terms ;  which  were,  that  we  should  be  paid  for  the 
trouble  we  would  have  in  replacing  the  water.  As 
soon  as  this  was  understood,  all  hands  turned  to. 
The  casks  were  filled,  rafted,  and  towed  aboard  the 
Pamelia  in  double-quick  time;  and  our  boat  returned 
with  money  and  several  boxes  of  soap  as  a  compen- 
sation. 

It  may  seem,  to  a  disinterested  reader,  that  our 
thus  refusing  to  supply  the  wants  of  a  countryman, 
in  this  far  ofi*  sea,  was  niggardly  in  the  extreme. 
But  the  master  of  the  Pamelia  was  unpopular  over 
the  whole  ocean,  and  our  men  were  affected  with  the 
general  opinion  respecting  him.  They  alleged  that 
he  had  came  aboard  our  ship  some  months  before, 
and  remonstrated  with  our  captain  against  the  quan- 
tity of  provisions  he  allowed  to  his  crew ;  stating,  at 
the  same  time,  that  he  (meaning  himself)  did  not 
give  his  men  all  they  wanted :  which  assertion  one 
would  indeed  find  no  difficulty  to  believe  on  hearing 
his  crew  talk,  who  represented  their  fare  to  be  ex- 
tremely meagre. 

This  was  the  nearest  approach  to  insubordination 
that  had  thus  far  occurred  amongst  us ;  and  which, 
if  our  captain  and  officers  had  been  bullying,  threat- 
21* 


246  THE   SPREAD   EAGLE    PUNISHMENT. 

ening  men,  might  have  been  lashed  into  a  mutiny, 
that  in  the  eyes  of  justice  they  would  have  been  held 
responsible  for :  because-  it  was  certainly  due  to  every 
man  aboard,  that  the  captain  should  have  stated  his 
intention  of  furnishing  another  ship  with  water,  and 
his  reasons  for  so  doing  —  appealing  at  the  same 
time  to  what  would  be  the  sense  of  our  own  neces- 
sities, if  placed  in  such  a  situation ;  and  then  not  a 
man  aboard  would  have  raised  a  dissenting  voice,  or 
spoken  of  remuneration.  It  is,  however,  a  mistake 
too  often  committed  by  shipowners,  shipmasters, 
and  ship's  officers,  to  think  that  the  sailor  has 
neither  part  nor  parcel  in  the  concerns  of  the  ship  or 
voyage,  and  that  the  disposal  of  his  time  is  altogether 
at  the  pleasure  of  his  superiors ;  and  thus  they  con- 
duct themselves  toward  him,  treating  him  with  no 
more  deference  than  they  would  accord  to  a  dog 
aboard  the  ship ;  and  in  this  w^ay  are  sown  the  first 
seeds  of  mutiny,  which  spring  up,  bear  fruit  that 
come  to  maturity,  and  destroy  the  original  causes  of 
their  production. 

On  the  19th  we  gammoned  with  a  barque  belong- 
ing to  Fairhaven.  This  circumstance  is  only  worthy 
of  notice  from  its  being  the  first  opportunity  we  had, 
since  leaving  home,  of  seeing  that  peculiar  creature 
known  amongst  seafaring  men  as  the  spread  eagle; 
w^hich  consists  in  a  human  being  lashed  to  the 
rigging  by  his  wTists,  when,  as  the  case  may  be,  he 
is  punished  with  the  lash,  made  to  stand  for  an 
immoderate  length  of  time  on  one  leg,  or  his  arms 
seized  at  such  a  height  that  he  can  but  just  rest  on 
the  tips  of  his  toes.  In  the  present  case  the  culprit 
was  forced  to  stand  on  one  leg,  shifting  at  periodical 


ANCHOR   OFF   BUNBURY.  247 

times ;  and  was  thus  punished  for  thirty-six  hours. 
He  was  quite  a  lad,  and  his  offence  was  said  to  be 
the  participating  in  a  fracas  in  the  forecastle.  Whe- 
ther just  or  unjust,  the  application  of  this  harsh  and 
cruel  punishment  recoiled  upon  the  captain,  as  a  few 
weeks  afterward,  when  several  of  her  crew  deserted 
from  her  in  Bunbury,  he  could  not  replace  them: 
notice  of  this  circumstance  having  got  ashore — ^whe- 
ther from  our  crew  or  hers,  I  cannot  say ;  but  it  was 
all-sufficient  to  deter  any  of  the  men  ashore  from  en- 
gaging with  her  captain,  as  they  answered  his  propo- 
sals to  them  for  that  purpose  with  scorn  and  insult. 

On  the  22d  we  saw  sperm  whales  going  off  to 
windward  at  a  tangent.  We  lowered,  but  found  it 
useless.  Two  days  afterward  we  squared  away  for 
Bunbury.  In  the  afternoon  we  doubled  Cape  Katu- 
raliste  at  a  slashing  pace,  knocking  twelve  knots  an 
hour  out  of  the  old  ship.  That  night  we  came  to, 
with  our  head-yards  aback ;  and  the  following  morn- 
ing cast  anchor  off  the  town.  Our  first  job,  after 
anchoring,  was  to  heave  our  maintopmast  up,  and 
substitute  a  new  fid  for  the  old  one.  This  was  but 
little  trouble.  On  extracting  the  old  fid,  we  were 
at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  mast  having  so  long 
remained  upright,  with  such  a  miserable  support: 
the  weight  of  the  topmast  having  crushed  the  stout 
oak  fid  almost  completely  through  —  but  a  few 
inches  of  solid  wood  remaining  to  sustain  it. 

Almost  as  soon  as  the  boat  could  convey  them  to 
us,  fresh  beef  and  vegetables  were  brought  aboard ; 
proving  that,  when  inclined  to  purchase  it,  meat  was 
no  article  of  scarcity  in  this  market. 

After    adjusting  our  topmast,   we  went    ashore 


248  CREW   OF  THE   BRIG   LOCHINVAR. 

to  fill  our  casks  with  fresh  water.  A  w^ell  had  been 
constructed  since  we  w^ere  here  a  year  ago ;  the  cap- 
tains of  the  different  whaleships  touching  at  the  port 
having  subscribed  to  a  fund  for  its  erection.  It  was 
larger  and  much  more  convenient  than  those  at 
Vasse ;  and,  as  the  distance  to  the  beach  was  not  so 
great  as  at  that  place,  we  had  little  fault  to  find  with 
it,  and  soon  conveyed  on  board  over  three  hundred 
barrels  of  water. 

On  the  28th  the  brig  Lochinvar  arrived  from  Free- 
mantle,  in  ballast,  for  the  purpose  of  loading  lumber, 
and  conveying  passengers  to  Adelaide.  The  lumber 
consisted  altogether  of  the  native  mahogany,  and 
was  intended  for  sleepers  to  the  railway  there.  The 
passengers  were  charged  ten  pounds  sterling  per 
head  for  their  passage  —  a  distance  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred miles.  Rather  a  contrast  to  our  own  cheap 
steam-conveyances,  where  comfort  to  the  traveller 
can  be  procured  at  so  moderate  a  rate. 

On  boarding  the  Lochinvar  we  found  a  former 
foremast  hand,  belonging  to  the  Pamelia,  acting  as 
her  second  mate.  Her  crew  consisted  of  several 
hands  on  wages  of  six  pounds  sterling  per  month ; 
the  balance  was  composed  of  sailors  and  landsmen, 
the  former  of  whom  were  on  mere  nominal  pay  — 
their  compensation  being  but  one  shilling  per  month 
—  while  the  latter  were  obliged  to  pay  down  seven 
pounds,  and  agree  to  assist  in  loading  the  brig. 
These  men  were  actuated  in  thus  shipping,  at  such  a 
trifling  rate,  by  a  desire  to  get  away  from  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  :  they  viewing  Adelaide  and  its 
vicinity  as  a  land  of  promise. 

Soon  after  the  Lochinvar  came  to  anchor  a  der- 


LOADING  THE  LOCHINVAR.  249 

rick  was  ringed,  a  cart  conveyed  ashore,  and  they 
at  once  proceeded  to  get  off  timber — engaging  all 
the  unemployed  ones  in  the  place  (and  they  were 
not  a  few)  to  assist  in  the  operation.  Their  plan 
was,  to  take  one  of  their  boats,  which  was  broad  in 
the  beam,  and  furnished  with  lockers,  containing 
air-tight  cylinders ;  then  they  would  lash  around  it, 
and  over  it,  as  much  mahogany  as  she  would  be 
buoyant  under;  and  as  this  wood  is  extremely  heavy, 
and  sinks  like  a  stone,  their  load  was  not  a  large 
one.  Then  they  would  pull  off  to  the  brig,  where 
it  was  soon  hove  in  by  the  aid  of  the  derricks.  One 
stick  escaped  from  its  lashing  when  alongside  the 
brig,  and  a  boy,  who  belonged  ashore,  dove  down, 
and  attached  a  rope  to  it  in  four  and  a  half  fathoms 
of  water,  which  is  equal  to  twenty-seven  feet ;  hence 
this  was  somewhat  of  an  exploit. 

One  day  when  the  workmen  employed  on  the  beach 
had  lashed  the  timber  to  the  boat,  and  had  pushed  her 
oft^ — several  of  them  wading  a  short  distance  to  give 
her  an  impetus — two  of  the  men  were  observed  strug- 
gling, as  if  to  keep  themselves  afloat.  Both  disap- 
peared ;  but  one  rose  again  in  an  instant,  and  grasped 
the  boat.  The  other  was  not  seen  for  some  minutes. 
On  searching,  his  lifeless  body  was  discovered.  He 
was  a  good  swimmer,  and  a  few  strokes  would  have 
saved  his  life ;  but  he  had  been  drinking  to  excess  a 
short  time  before  the  accident,  and  to  this  was  attri- 
buted his  inability  to  help  himself.  His  body  was 
conveyed  to  the  jail,  cast  into  a  rude  mahogany 
box,  and  buried  within  a  few  hours  afterwards :  the 
climate  here  forbidding  the  keeping  of  a  corpse  more 
than  twenty-four  hours. 


250  LIBERTY  ALLOWED. 

Two  days'  liberty  was  allowed  to  each  watch,  and 
as,  after  we  left  the  year  previous,  two  whale-ships, 
on  the  recommendation  of  our  captain,  had  visited 
the  port,  our  advent  created  no  surprise.  Ships  and 
sailors  had  become  familiar  sights,  and  the  inhabitants 
were  not  as  ready  to  spend  their  money,  or  listen  to 
our  yarns,  as  they  were  on  our  former  visit.  In  the 
town  things  had  changed  but  little  —  no  improve- 
ments, no  marriages,  and  no  deaths  during  our  ab- 
sence. Therefore,  as  there  was  little  either  to  interest 
or  divert  us,  a  number  of  our  crew  who,  during  the 
previous  visit  were  enjoying  themselves  wuth  rational 
pleasures,  in  the  absence  of  former  novelties,  flocked 
to  the  groggeries  and  passed  their  time  there.  Apart 
from  the  general  jokes  and  antics  of  seamen,  one 
circumstance  only,  worthy  of  note,  occurred;  that 
was  the  mulcting  of  one  of  the  publicans  for 
allowing  two  of  our  men  to  play  cards  in  his 
house ;  their  laws  prohibiting  card  playing  even  for 
amusement. 

On  the  1st  of  February  the  barque  low^a  came  in 
and  gave  liberty,  so  that  there  was  quite  a  number 
of  us  ashore  for  several  days ;  but  after  that  we  be- 
came tired  of  listlessly  walking  through  the  sand, 
and  preferred  remaining  aboard  the  ship. 

On  the  5th  our  men  proceeded  some  ten  miles  up 
the  river  to  the  village  of  Australind.  On  our  w^ay  up 
we  passed  several  grazing  farms  stocked  with  noble 
cattle.  Along  the  river  thousands  of  birds  were  to  be 
seen,  amongst  which  our  pilot  pointed  out,  as  pecu- 
liarly worthy  of  notice,  the  black  and  white  swan.  Ar- 
riving at  Australind  we  found  ourselves  in  a  beautiful 


HOSPITALITY.  251 

country,  excellently  cultivated,  appearing  as  an  oasis 
in  the  sandy  district  that  surrounded  it.  We  had 
received,  or  understood  that  we  had  received  (and 
certainly  such  was  the  gist  of  the  message  conveyed 
to  us),  an  invitation  from  the  proprietor  of  a  hand- 
some garden  in  the  vicinity  to  visit  him,  and  help 
him  to  eat  some  of  his  abundant  fruit,  partake  of 
dinner  with  him,  and  generally  enjoy  ourselves  at 
his  expense;  he  wishing  no  other  return  than  the 
pleasure  of  playing  the  host  to  an  assemblage  of 
Neptune's  sons.  This,  even  to  our  unsophisticated 
ears,  sounded  almost  too  disinterested  for  the  in- 
habitants of  Australia.  Nevertheless,  having  little 
else  to  do,  w^e  determined  to  face  the  music,  pro- 
viding ourselves  with  plenty  of  biscuit  in  case  of 
disappointment.  We  landed  and  went  up  to  milord's 
house,  which  proved  to  be  a  neat  and  substantial  brick 
edifice,  and,  with  the  assurance  of  invited  guests  who 
had  come  ten  miles  to  please  their  host,  we  approached 
the  door.  We  found  that  the  individual  who  was  so 
liberal  in  his  promises  was  absent,  and  in  his  stead 
his  home  was  garrisoned  by  a  party  of  women,  the 
young  and  pretty  of  whom  were  kept  in  the  back- 
ground by  the  high  shoulders  and  higher  cap  of  an 
old  dame,  whom  I  afterwards  understood  was  a 
genuine  specimen  of  the  English  titled  lady;  but  I 
doubt  it  —  as  I  have  always  understood  that  the 
matrons  of  England  were  distinguished  for  their 
hospitality,  and  this  lady  certainly  possessed  no  such 
quality ;  as,  with  a  vinegar  aspect,  she  informed  us  of 
the  absence  of  her  spouse,  looking  at  us  meanwhile 
as  if  she  thought  us  a  party  of  marauders  come  to 
Btorm  her  vineyard.    She  indulged  in  remarks  which, 


252  HOSPITALITY. 

without  misconstruing,  easily  made  known  to  us  her 
desire  for  us  to  begone ;  but  we  were  of  too  turgid  a 
composition  to  comply  with  her  wishes.  We  had 
come  for  a  day's  pleasure,  and  we  were  bound  to 
have  it  whether  my  lady  was  desirous  or  not ;  and 
we  did  have  it  too,  for  the  butler,  and  several  others, 
finding  that  we  were  in  no  hurry  to  decamp,  to 
relieve  the  old  lady  from  the  infliction  of  looking 
on  such  barbarians  as  we,  made  a  virtue  of  necessity 
and  asked  us  down  into  the  vineyard.  Here  the 
gardener,  as  if  to  make  amends  for  the  churlishness 
of  the  others,  took  considerable  pains  to  show  us 
over  the  grounds,  and  gave  us  full  permission  to 
regale  ourselves  with  as  much  fruit  as  we  could  eat. 
"We  took  him  at  his  word,  and  soon  were  deep  in 
the  discussion  of  splendid  grapes,  water  and  musk- 
melons,  mulberries,  bananas,  and  peaches.  There 
were  acres  of  grape  vines — the  proprietor  cultivating 
them  for  the  manufacture  of  wines.  They  were 
splendid  specimens;  and  as  they  were  a  novel  dish 
to  us,  we  were  not  the  most  moderate  consumers 
of  them,  as  the  skins  that  strewed  our  paths  testified. 
The  mulberries  were  larger,  but  much  tarter  than 
ours  at  home.  The  bananas  were  not  of  so  good  a 
flavor  or  such  a  size  as  those  we  had  seen  at  Balli. 
The  gardener  informed  me  that  the  banana  plant  bore 
the  whole  year  round.  The  fruit  is  preceded  by  a 
splendid  flower  resembling  the  dahlia  in  color,  but 
treble  its  size.  Besides  these  fruits  the  usual  garden 
vegetables  were  growing,  amongst  which  I  noticed 
the  tomato,  and,  strange  to  say,  the  taste  of  its  raw 
fruit  was  pleasanter  and  more  refreshing  than  that 
of  the  more  valued  kinds  J  had  been  eatino^.    Deem- 


HOSPITALITY.  253 

ing  this  a  freak  of  my  palate,  I  mentioned  it  to 
my  companions  as  singular:  several  of  them  said 
that  such  was  precisely  the  case  with  them,  and  they 
preferred  it  to  the  other  fruit.  After  several  hours 
spent  in  rambling,  we  returned  to  the  house  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  a  draught  of  water,  which  was 
drawn  from  a  well  by  means  of  a  hydraulic  pump, 
and  which,  by  the  way,  was  the  only  spot  where  I 
procured  a  good,  cool  drink  of  water  in  New  Holland. 
We  were  again  attacked  by  the  old  lady,  who,  to 
some  extent,  apologizing  for  her  brusqueness  in  the 
morning,  very  plainly  intimated  that,  for  a  suitable 
return,  she  could  supply  us  with  a  repast.  Like  most 
sailors,  having  receptacles  capable  of  and  requiring 
more  substantial  food  than  fruit  after  our  exercise, 
we  closed  with  her  very  liberal  offer,  and  were  soon 
seated  at  a  table  furnished  with  excellent  edibles, 
bread  and  butter,  milk,  jam,  and  other  articles,  making 
together  a  first  rate  supper.  On  our  taking  leave 
we  gave  to  each  of  the  underlings  who  had  been 
attentive  to  us  some  tobacco.  They  informed  us 
that  their  master  had  been  unavoidably  called  away 
from  home  on  business,  and  stated  that  had  he  been 
present  we  should  have  passed  a  very  pleasant  day. 
Giving  the  gentleman  the  benefit  of  this  assertion, 
we  took  leave  of  his  estate,  embarked  in  our  boat, 
and  directed  her  head  towards  Bunbury.  We  reached 
the  ship  at  nightfall  and  were  pretty  well  wearied 
with  our  jaunt.  Those  of  our  shipmates  who  had 
remained  aboard,  had  prophesied  in  the  morning  the 
miscarriage  of  our  proposed  pleasure ;  but  as  we  kept 
our  own  counsel,  they  were  none  the  wiser  of  our  ex- 
perience of  old  English  hospitality,  and  they  expressed 
22 


254  COLLATION  ABOARD   THE  IOWA. 

some  chagrin  that  they  had  not  formed  part  of  our 
expedition. 

On  the  following  day  and  night  a  collation  was 
spread  aboard  the  Iowa,  and  to  it  flocked  all  the 
wit  and  beauty  of  the  neighborhood.  After  they 
had  satisfied  their  appetites  they  resorted  to  our  ship. 
Music  was  in  demand,  and  the  quarter-deck  was 
made  a  stage  on  which  'New  Holland's  damsels  and 
Yankee  whaling  officers  were  vieing  in  displaying 
their  individual  grace  and  activity  as  disciples  of 
Terpsichore.  The  ladies  looked  very  well,  and  talked 
equally  so,  with  the  exception  of  a  remark  one  let 
slip ;  but  then  some  allowance  must  be  made,  as  she 
did  not  know  that  any  one  was  listening.  Indeed,  I 
hardly  know  whether  I  am  justified  in  betraying  the 
failings  of  the  fair  sex.  However,  I  was  never  cele- 
brated either  for  wisdom  or  prudence,  and  I  shall 
not  in  this  case  exercise  a  virtue  to  which  I  have  no 
claim ;  so  here  it  is,  and  if  any  attach  blame  to  the 
lady  for  it,  I  can  only  answer  him  or  her  with  the 
motto  of  the  knights  of  the  garter,  ^'  Honi  soit  qui 
mal  y  'pense^''  or  "Evil  be  to  him  who  evil  thinks.'* 
But  here  is  a  long  dissertation  without  the  conver- 
sation, which  if  any  lady  reads,  I  know  that  her 
patience  will  be  exhausted,  so  I  needs  must  proceed 
with  my  disclosure.  Two  ladies  who  had  just  sat 
down  to  rest  themselves  after  the  dance,  engaged 
in  conversation,  and,  in  the  course  of  it,  one  stated 
that  she  felt  sea-sick.  "I  feel  a  little  qualmish, 
too,"  returned  the  other,  "and  I  have  heard  that 
brandy  was  good  for  it.  I  wish  that  I  had  brought  a 
bottle  in  my  pocket.  Indeed,  I  intended  to,  but 
forgot  it."     Eemark  is  needless,  and  superfluous. 


AMERICAN  WHALERS  AT  VASSE.  255 

The  refreshments  at  this  entertainment  were  coffee 
and  cake;  unlike  that  at  Yasse,  where  spirituous 
liquors  flowed  as  freely  down  male  and  female 
throats,  as  whiskey  down  an  Irishman's  gullet  at  a 
wake. 

On  the  Thursday  following  was  the  anniversary 
of  their  annual  races,  at  which  prizes  are  offered  by 
the  government  to  the  victor.  These  prizes  are  given 
for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the  settlers  to  pay  atten- 
tion to  the  improvement  of  their  stock.  To  avoid 
the  confusion  and  irregularity  which  generally  pre- 
vailed among  the  inhabitants  on  these  occasions,  and 
in  which  our  men  would  be  too  apt  readily  to  join, 
we  hastened  our  departure;  and,  accordingly,  on 
Tuesday,  after  having  had  our  vessel  searched  by 
the  government  officials,  we  got  under  weigh,  and 
stood  down  the  bay  towards  Yasse.  Soon  after  the 
Iowa  followed  our  example ;  and,  with  a  head  wind, 
which  forced  both  of  us  to  beat,  we  pursued  the  same 
direction.  We  soon  weathered  our  companion,  and 
left  her  far  in  the  distance.  The  following  morning, 
at  11  o'clock,  we  let  go  our  anchor  off  the  town  of 
Yasse,  where  we  found  three  barques  and  two 
ships:  all  whalers — all  carrying  the  star-spangled 
banner  —  all  belonging  to  Kew  Bedford,  and  all,  ex- 
cept one,  clippers.  Every  year  the  number  of  old- 
fashioned  ships  is  decreasing,  and  wedge-shaped  craft 
taking  their  place :  the  whaling-service  (a  branch  of 
commerce  the  last  to  countenance  innovation)  fast 
yielding  to  the  march  of  improvement,  and  adopting 
the  modern  model  —  a  long  head,  a  clean  run,  and 
a  round  stern. 

The  next  day  liberty  was  allowed ;  and,  as  there 


256    POST-MASTER  AND  SCHOOL-MISTRESS  OF  VASSE. 

was  a  report  of  a  prize-fight  to  come  off  during  the 
day,  almost  everybody  that  had  liberty  went  ashore. 
There  were  seven  ships  in  the  harbor,  (the  Iowa  hav- 
ing arrived  the  preceding  evening),  and  therefore 
the  number  going  ashore  formed  quite  an  army  — 
no  less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty.  The  prize- 
fight, however,  took  place  at  so  early  an  hour,  and 
at  such  a  distance  from  the  town,  that  our  country- 
men were  prevented  from  witnessing  it.  But  the 
day  passed  off  pleasantly,  and  with  moderation,  as 
far  as  regarded  the  imbibition  of  spirits:  no  one  of  the 
whole  motley  assemblage,  comprising  natives  of  al- 
most every  clime,  having  gone  beyond  the  proper 
bounds. 

During  the  next  week  I  saw  one  of  the  partici- 
pators in  the  brutal  contest  above  alluded  to.  He 
presented  appearances  of  severe  punishment.  On 
stating  my  surprise  that  he  was  at  large,  when  the 
fact  of  the  fight  was  so  well  known  to  the  autho- 
rities, I  was  informed  that  the  law  had  no  power 
over  the  combatant,  unless  he  were  caught  in  the 
act. 

Amongst  the  celebrities  in  this  village  are  the 
post-master  and  school-mistress.  The  former  is  as 
deaf  as  a  post,  and  it  is  only  by  raising  the  voice  to 
a  high  pitch  that  the  least  intelligence  can  be  com- 
municated to  him.  My  patience  was  well-nigh  ex- 
hausted in  an  attempt  to  inform  him  of  the  mis- 
carriage of  several  of  my  letters  from  home ;  but  he 
either  could  not,  or  would  not,  be  made  to  under- 
stand my  complaint,  and  consequently  I  received  no 
satisfaction. 

The  school-mistress,  from  her  position,  was  of 


IGNORANCE   OF  HOLY  WRIT.  257 

course  a  wonder  of  learning  and  profundity.  Being 
desirous  of  a  conversation  with  her,  (the  more  so, 
because,  apart  from  her  implied  erudition,  she  was 
a  pleasant-looking  and  blooming  damsel,)  an  officer 
of  one  of  the  ships  scraped  an  acquaintance  with  her. 
She  was  in  nowise  loath  to  enter  into  conversation, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  both  were  deep  in  argument. 
During  the  colloquy,  the  mate  had  occasion  to  men- 
tion Samson's  feat  of  destroying  the  harvest  of  the 
Philistines  by  attaching  firebrands  to  the  tails  of 
foxes.  This,  to  his  surprise,  was  received  as  some- 
thing novel ;  and  the  fair  questioner  expressed  a  de- 
sire to  know  who  Samson  was :  wishing  to  be  informed 
whether  the  scene  of  his  exploits  was  the  United 
States,  and  whether  he  was  a  native  of  our  country. 

I  need  not  say  that  D was  taken  all  aback.     At 

first  he  thought  that  the  lady  was  making  game  of 
him ;  but  the  look  of  childish  wonder  and  simplicity 
that  she  wore  on  her  countenance  forbade  such  a 
conclusion.  He  was  so  surprised  at  her  ignorance 
of  Holy  Writ,  that  he  did  not  endeavor  to  enlighten 
her,  but  allowed  her  fancy  to  roam  free  over  the 
subject,  and,  as  soon  as  he  could  with  credit,  took 
his  departure ;  fully  convinced  that,  whatever  were 
the  acquirements  of  the  preceptors  of  youth,  who 
teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot,  and  wield  the 
scholastic  birch  in  'New  Holland,  they  at  least  had 
not  advanced  so  far  as  to  make  the  Bible  one  of  their 
school-books. 

I  noticed  this  strange  unacquaintance  with  Holy 
"Writ  in  more  than  one  individual  in  the  colony.     I 
have  no  doubt  they  can  manage  to  live  without  it — 
22*  R 


258  INDIFFERENCE   TO  THE  MARRIAGE   RITE. 

as  far  as  their  idea  of  life  comprehends  "living"; 
but  how  they  can  manage  to  die  happily  without  it, 
I  cannot  conceive. 

Another  fact  I  must  notice;  that  is,  the  great 
number  of  males  and  females  living  together  in 
couples  as  man  and  w^ife,  but  whose  union  has  not 
been  sanctioned  by  a  performance  of  the  sacred  mar- 
riage rite.  The  men  who  come  out  here  usually 
bring  their  wives  along,  if  they  are  voluntary  emi- 
grants; and  if  convicts  their  helpmates  occasion- 
ally follow  them  —  preferring  to  share  the  exile 
of  their  husbands  rather  than  spend  a  lone  life 
in  their  native  home.  In  the  latter  case  they  are 
allowed  to  consort  together,  provided  the  prisoner 
by  a  course  of  good  conduct  has  merited  and  received 
a  "  ticket  of  relief."  Not  unusually  when  any  of  these 
females  are  removed  by  death,  they  are  replaced  by  mis- 
tresses, who  assume  all  the  privileges  of  the  departed, 
as  well  as  the  maternal  government  of  the  children, 
if  there  should  be  any ;  in  which  latter  relation  they 
in  most  cases  act  prudently :  for  children  are  here  an 
element  of  wealth  as  soon  as  they  arrive  at  an  age 
at  which  they  are  qualified  to  help  themselves  — 
there  being  plenty  for  them  to  do,  if  only  these 
nominal  mothers  and  their  husbands  are  diposed  to 
teach  them  to  labor. 

This  state  of  affairs  does  not  appear  to  be  looked 
upon  by  the  inhabitants  as  criminal,  neither  is  it  made 
a  matter  of  scandal  —  both  parties  being  allowed  to 
enter  society  without  reserve,  These  are  harsh  asser- 
tions, I  am  aware ;  but,  ere  they  were  written,  their 
asperity  was  well  digested,  both  by  myself  and  scores 
of  others,  who,  not  from  hearsay,  but  from  observation 


SENSUALITY  OF  THE  NEW  HOLLANDERS.    259 

and  unrestricted  intercourse  among  these  people, 
are  confident  they  do  not  do  them  injustice.  The 
climate  is  blamed  by  them  for  their  predisposition 
to  sensuality ;  and  the  law  is  anything  but  lenient 
to  the  offender  in  such  cases:  the  violator  of  a 
female,  when  brought  before  a  court  of  justice, 
being  always  punished  by  death. 


260      SUPPLY  BARQUE  PAMELIA  WITH   ESCULENTS, 


CHAPTER    XI. 

On  the  16tli  of  February,  after  having  added  three 
new  men  to  our  crew,  (two  of  them  Englishmen,  the 
third  a  Swede,)  we  hove  short,  and  at  3  P.  M.  stood  out 
of  the  bay.  On  arriving  off  Cape  J^aturaliste,  some 
twenty  miles  from  our  place  of  anchorage,  w^e  sighted 
a  sail  that  proved  to  be  the  barque  Pamelia,  which 
was  hovering  off  this  locality,  to  intercept  the 
barque  Eagle,  which  was  to  bring  her  third  mate  out, 
and  also  provisions  for  her  consumption.  Esculents 
she  needed  very  much,  as  several  of  her  people,  the 
captain  amongst  the  number,  were  affected  by  scurvy. 
We  supplied  them  temporarily,  and  thus  kept  off 
that  disease,  which  occasions  so  much  terror  to  the 
seaman.  She  contemplated  returning  home  in  a 
short  time,  and  several  of  her  crew,  whose  motives  I 
cannot  fathom,  not  contented  with  a  three-years'  so- 
journ in  these  waters,  exchanged  into  the  ship  Lap- 
wing, that  had  some  twenty  months  more  to  remain. 
They  must  either  have  had  an  overweening  desire  to 
acquire  money,  or  else  there  were  but  few  attractions 
at  home  to  induce  them  to  return. 

After  leaving  the  bay,  we  steered  to  the  southeast, 
in  hopep  of  picking  up  a  whale  or  two ;  but  we  met 
only  with  strong  gales  of  wind,  which  put  whaling 
out  of  the  question.  We  then  returned  to  the  north- 
ward, and  had  the  like  success :  nothing  occurring 


A  LARGE   SHARK.  261 

to  vary  the  sameness,  day  after  day,  but  a  series  of 
heavy  tempests,  attended  by  terrific  thunder  and 
lightning.  One  night  (the  12th  of  March)  the  scene 
was  absolutely  appalling  —  presenting  a  perfect  war 
of  the  elements.  In  the  words  of  an  old  song  (than 
which  I  know  of  no  better  description) : 

"Now  the  dreadful  thunder  roaring, 

Peal  on  peal  contending  clash; 
On  our  heads  fierce  rain  falls  pouring, 

In  our  eyes  blue  lightnings  flash. 
One  wide  water  all  around  us. 

All  above  us  one  dark  sky; 
Different  deaths  at  once  surround  us  — 

Hark!  what  means  that  dreadful  cry." 

What  the  words  "that  dreadful  cry"  referred  to  in 
the  song,  the  reader  must  imagine ;  in  our  case  it 
was  that  of  a  shark.  A  monster  of  that  species, 
attracted  probably  by  his  instinct,  which  led  him  to 
expect  prey  on  such  a  night  as  this,  swam  around 
and  around  the  ship ;  the  intense  darkness  of  the 
night  and  phosphorescent  gleam  of  the  ocean  made 
his  huge  bulk  show  out  in  relief,  and  appear  treble 
his  real  size.  With  a  swab  trailed  astern,  we  soon 
got  him  within  darting  distance,  and  hove  an  iron 
into  his  carcass,  which  stopped  his  marauding 
forever.  He  was  an  enormous  sized  one,  and  required 
the  united  strength  of  half  a  dozen  of  us,  after  he 
was  mortally  wounded,  to  drag  him  part  way  from 
the  water. 

The  storm  did  us  no  damage  —  the  lightning  ran 
over  our  yards  and  the  various  ironwork  of  the  ship 
in  a  manner  to  terrify  the  boldest.  The  reason 
assigned  for  so  few  cases  of  injury  to  ships  by  light- 


262  TERRIFYING  EFFECT   OF  LIGHTNING. 

ning,  is  the  number  of  points  presented  in  her  struc- 
ture for  the  dispersion  of  the  electricity.  One  pre- 
caution is  invariably  taken,  that  is,  to  remove  the 
pump-spears,  and  fill  their  place  with  swabs,  to  pre- 
vent the  iron  rods  acting  as  conductors  for  the 
electric  fluid  into  the  hold  of  the  ship. 

There  is  something  terrifying  in  such  a  scene,  that 
carries  with  it  a  sense  of  danger  to  the  sturdiest :  no 
matter  how  many  such  outbreaks  have  before  been 
viewed  by  the  beholder,  still  an  indefinable  fear  will 
pervade  his  system.  The  gale  is  a  feature  to  which, 
in  his  routine  of  life  upon  the  ocean,  the  seaman  be- 
comes accustomed,  and  only  asks  for  a  short  warning  to 
battle  with  it ;  but  there  is  something  in  the  lightning 
that  makes  one  feel  completely  at  its  mercy,  though 
w^e  know  that  in  this  as  in  all  other  perilous  situations, 
we  are  under  the  protection  of  the  same  wise  Creator. 

On  these  grounds  we  were  continually  meeting 
merchantmen  bound  to  and  from  the  various  Austra- 
lian and  East  Indian  ports,  and  it  was  a  matter  of 
cono^ratulation  to  us  to  see  that  all  the  swiftest  and 
best  of  these  ships  carried  our  own  starry  flag,  main- 
taining the  pre-eminence  of  our  ship-builders  in  this 
far-ofl*  sea. 

We  w^ere  now  thirty  months  from  home,  and  as 
our  ship  was  fitted  at  the  outset  to  remain  from 
home  but  forty,  this  was  to  be  our  last  cruise; 
and  home  was  the  all-engrossing  topic  on  every 
tongue,  from  the  captain's  to  the  steerage  boys',  all 
uniting  in  a  sincere  wish  to  return,  oil  or  no  oil.  Our 
return,  which  but  a  short  time  previous  had  been 
commented  upon  as  a  vague  and  distant  termination 
of  a  protracted  voyage,  was  now  viewed  as  feasible 


PRIVaEGED   TO   BEG   OR   STEAL.  263: 

and  not  very  remote ;  and  we  felt  ourselves  consider- 
ably elevated  by  the  mere  thought,  when  we  gam- 
moned with  ships  but  a  short  time  from  home, 
of  the  probation  they,  poor  fellows,  would  have 
to  go  through  ere  they  arrived  at  the  degree  of 
experience  we  had  acquired  on  this  coast.  The 
wildest  of  those  of  our  crew,  who  had  left  home  on 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  were  the  most  anxious 
to  return,  feeling  that  they  had  paid  dear  enough  for 
their  whistles. 

"We  were  now  the  longest  out  of  any  ship  on  the 
coast.  It  is  an  old  adage,  amongst  whalemen,  that 
when  a  year  from  home,  on  gammoning  with  any 
ship  that  has  sailed  subsequent  to  your  own  departure, 
you  have  the  privilege  of  begging ;  when  two  years 
out,  of  stealing;  and  when  three  years,  of  stealing 
and  begging  too  ;  so  that  we  now  had  the  right  of 
exercising  this  privilege,  in  which  there  is  more 
reality  than  romance.  Fresh  provisions  are  seized 
upon  by  the  old  residenters  without  ruth,  as  if 
they  had  the  best  right  to  them.  This  is  seldom 
disputed  by  the  owners,  who,  in  the  abundance  of 
their  sympathy,  do  not  wait  to  be  asked  for  such 
things,  but  press  them  for  acceptance  without  thought 
of  remuneration ;  doing  as  they  would  be  done  by, 
and  setting  an  example  worthy  of  imitation  by  more 
polished  ones. 

During  the  latter  part  of  February  and  the  month 
of  March,  we  were  occupied  in  beating  around  the 
south-west  coast  of  IsTew  Holland,  occasionally  seeing 
land  or  sighting  a  ship  to  vary  the  monotony.  Early 
in  April  we  steered  to  the  northward,  the  strong 
south-east  trades  being  greatly  in  our  favor.     These 


264         THE  BONITA  AND  ALBACORE. 

winds  prevail  throughout  the  year  in  this  vicinity, 
only  interrupted  by  fierce  gales  from  the  north-west, 
which,  though  severe  throughout  their  duration, 
seldom  last  more  than  from  twelve  to  sixteen  hours. 
During  our  passage,  as  we  emerged  into  the  warmer 
latitudes,  shoals  of  flying-fish,  bonita,  albacore,  and 
dolphin  were  continually  in  sight,  skipping  hither 
and  thither.  The  bonita  and  albacore  remaining  in 
attendance  upon  our  journey  for  months,  we  occa- 
sionally caught  them.  Their  prey  being  flying-fish, 
they  are  easily  hooked  by  cutting  from  solder  or  tin 
a  shape  resembling  the  little  creature,  attaching  a 
hook  to  the  lower  part  of  the  solder  image,  and  a 
line  to  the  upper;  the  angler  then  perches  himself 
upon  the  end  of  the  flying  jib-boom,  and  dangles  his 
tackle  to  and  fro,  imitating  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
serial  flight  of  the  tiny  creature  it  is  intended  to 
represent.  The  voracious  skip-jack,  or  albacore,  as 
the  case  may  be,  ever  on  the  alert  for  its  prey,  rushes 
to  the  bait,  seizes  it,  and  is  hooked  for  his  pains.  It 
is  a  pleasant  sight  to  watch  these  fish  whilst  about 
the  ship ;  their  agile  movements  in  pursuit  of  the 
flying-fish ;  their  instinct  teaching  them  that  these  are 
to  be  found  in  the  greatest  number  about  the  vessel's 
prow,  which,  in  her  onward  course,  disturbs  them  in 
their  retreats,  and  forces  them  to  seek  safety  in  the  air, 
on  their  descent  from  which  an  ever  watchful  enemy  is 
prepared  to  meet  and  devour  some  of  their  number. 
At  all  times  these  creatures,  apparently  with  the 
utmost  ease,  keep  in  advance  of  the  ship,  leaping 
from  the  water  and  varying  their  course  with  the 
direction  of  the  vessel.  As  I  before  said,  they  are 
often  caught,  but  are  only  serviceable  for  food  when 


ABROLHAS'   ISLANDS.  266 

cooked  with  other  articles,  their  flesh  heing  extremely 
dry  and  insipid.  I  have  been  assured  by  those  who 
have  had  experience  of  it,  that  long  indulgence  in 
eating  them,  produces  scurvy  of  the  most  violent 
type  —  more  than  one  instance  of  such  a  fact  being 
on  record. 

At  noon  of  April  20th  we  saw  the  Abrolhas* 
Islands,  and  a  reef  in  their  vicinity  known  as  the 
Turtle  Dove,  which,  from  observation,  we  found  con- 
siderably out  of  the  position  laid  down  on  the  chart 
for  it.  Immediately  on  closing  with  the  land  we 
lowered  away  two  boats — one  of  which  went  fishing, 
the  other  prospecting;  at  dark  both  returned,  the 
fishing  boat  with  several  barrels  of  snappers,  jew-fish, 
and  gropers ;  the  prospecting  party  landed  on  Long 
Island,  and  found  it  a  long,  narrow  strip  of  coral 
•reef  covered  with  broken  shells  and  fragments  of 
coral  cast  up  by  the  surf.  A  few  mangroves  and 
stunted  bushes  comprised  the  vegetation.  Large 
numbers  of  birds  were  present,  and  on  some  portions 
of  the  island  were  extensive  deposits  of  guano, 
though  so  mixed  with  coral  and  fractured  portions 
of  shells  as  to  be  unfit  for  the  purposes  of  the  agri- 
culturist. 

On  the  following  day  we  again  went  in,  and,  carry- 
ing the  boat  across  a  narrow  part  of  the  island, 
we  launched  her  again  in  the  so-called  bay,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  soundings,  by  which  we  ascertained 
the  feasibility  of  anchoring  here.  We  also  visited 
Middle  Island,  where  a  small  mound  and  a  head- 
board gave  notice  of  the  interment  of  a  poor  remnant 
of  mortality.  The  board  bore  the  inscription,  "  Tho- 
mas Williams,  deceased  April,  1851;"  purporting 
23 


266  BRUTALITY  TO   SEAMEN. 

to  have  been  placed  there  by  the  captain  of  a 
schooner.  From  a  person  who  knew  something  of  the 
history  of  tlie  vicinity,  I  learned  that  the  deceased 
had  been  an  American  seaman,  a  colored  man,  who 
had  left  an  American  whale-ship  in  Freemantle, 
years  previous ;  there  he  had  married,  joined  the 
schooner  and  set  out  as  one  of  a  whaling  party  to  the 
Abrolhas' ;  but  before  he  had  reached  the  scene  of 
operations,  he  had  fought  his  last  battle,  and  been 
conquered  by  death. 

On  Middle  Island  there  is  a  rough  house  erected, 
vrhich  has  remained  for  many  years ;  as  also  the  ruins 
of  a  try  works — memorials  of  a  whaling  party.  The 
tenement  is  built  of  stone,  the  roof  of  mahogany, 
and,  no  doubt,  was  formerly  quite  a  substantial 
building;  but  the  north-westers  that  howl  through 
the  islands  have  made  sad  havoc  wdth  its  fair  propor- 
tions, and  it  is  no  longer  tenantable. 

At  night  we  braced  forward  and  stood  out  to  the 
open  ocean.  On  the  29th  we  gammoned  the  clipper 
barque  Sunlight,  of  I^ew  Bedford,  a  beautiful  craft, 
twenty-one  months  from  home,  with  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  barrels  of  oil.  Her  captain,  a  namesake  of 
the  iron-handed  protector  of  England,  was  described 
by  his  crew  as  being  a  fiend  incarnate  —  cursing, 
beating,  and  abusing  everyone  under  his  command; 
giving  them  scarcely  enough  to  eat.  Poor  fellows, 
they  were  glad  to  get  hard  bread,  which  we,  touched 
by  their  relation,  gave  to  them :  this  they  secreted  on 
their  persons  to  carry  aboard  and  make  a  meal  of. 
The  account  of  their  sufferings  from  this  monster 
almost  exceeded  belief;  but  as  it  was  the  same  story 
from  all  grades  of  the  members  of  the  ship's  com- 


A  SULPHUR-BOTTOM  WHALE  CAPTURED.  267 

pany,  and  was  afterwards  corroborated  by  the  crew 
of  another  vessel,  we  were  forced  to  yield  credence 
to  the  tale. 

On  May  1st,  a  few  minutes  prior  to  sunset,  we  saw 
boats  and  a  ship  whaling.  On  nearing  the  scene  of 
operations  we  found  it  to  be  the  ship  Abigail,  of  New 
Bedford,  which  proved  to  be  unsuccessful.  The  suc- 
ceeding day  we  again  saw  her  boats  whaling.  We 
lowered  away  our  own,  but  to  no  purpose.  They, 
however,  made  an  acquisition  in  the  shape  of  an 
eighty  barrel  whale. 

•  On  the  6th  we  gammoned  the  ship  Congress ;  she 
brought  from  home  a  budget  of  letters  for  us,  but 
had  delivered  them  over  to  the  James  Allen,  in  Oc- 
tober last,  supposing  that  the  latter  would  see  us  first — 
they  are  now  lost  to  us  entirely.  The  Congress,  it  will 
be  remembered,  returned  to  the  States  since  we  have 
been  on  this  coast,  full  of  oil ;  and  in  the  sixteen 
months,  during  which  she  has  been  from  home  this 
voyage,  she  has  taken  sixteen  hundred  barrels  of  oil, 
or  nearly  double  what  we  have  taken  in  three  years. 
She  is  commanded  by  the  person  who  acted  as  her 
mate  during  the  last  voyage. 

On  the  9th  we  saw  a  barque  to  leeward,  manoeuvring 
for  whales,  and  evidently  desirous,  from  her  signals, 
of  attracting  our  observation.  On  running  down  to 
her  we  found  that  she  had  a  whale  alongside,  and 
that  she  was  the  John  A.  Kobb,  of  Fair  Haven,  cap- 
tain Baker,  the  same  who  was  cast  away  in  the 
barque  Henry  H.  Crapo ;  her  whale  was  a  sulphur- 
bottom,  and,  as  these  are  seldom  captured,  much 
curiosity  was  manifested  to  get  a  sight  at  him.  The 
head  was  shaped  like  an  inverted  scoop ;  the  fins  and 


268  WHALEBONE  AS   FREIGHT. 

flukes  resembled  much  those  of  the  right  whale.  It 
has  on  its  ridge  a  very  small  fin  or  hump,  which 
serves  to  distinguish  it  from  the  fin-hack ;  its  jaws 
are  furnished  with  black  bone,  but  so  short  as  to 
render  it  of  little  value  as  an  article  of  commerce. 
In  color  its  body  is  of  a  light  grey,  and  is  much 
longer,  in  proportion  to  its  bulk,  than  any  other  fish 
I  have  seen.  The  blubber  was  about  four  inches 
thick,  corrugated  and  arranged  on  the  belly  in  great 
folds  or  rolls;  it  was  literally  covered  by  wounds 
made  by  the  remora  or  sucking-fish.  The  whole 
length  was  eighty  feet,  and  its  yield  fifty  barrels  — 
the  oil  commanding  the  same  price  as  that  of  the 
right  whale. 

It  is  seldom  this  variety  of  the  whale  is  disturbed 
by  the  whaleman,  its  extreme  shyness  rendering  it 
almost  an  impossibility  to  strike  it.  In  this  instance 
it  was  shot  from  the  ship  by  a  bomb-lance,  which,  by 
a  great  chance,  caused  a  fatal  wound,  disabling  the 
fish  so  that  he  was  an  easy  capture. 

The  high  price  of  whalebone  at  home  renders  the 
ships  on  this  ground,  which  have  a  large  supply  of  it, 
anxious  to  get  theirs  to  market  ere  there  is  a  depres- 
fiioi;i  in  price,  and  we  being  the  only  ship  anticipating 
a  speedy  return,  we  are  continually  having  it  ofiTered 
to  us  as  freight.  Amongst  these  ships  is  the  Eichard 
Mitchell,  which  narrowly  escaped  being  driven  ashore 
at  Bunbury  a  few  weeks  ago.  She  had  landed  her 
captain  to  bargain  for  provisions,  whilst  the  vessel 
was  standing  off  and  on,  when  a  heavy  southerly 
gale  sprang  up  and  stripped  her  of  every  inch  of 
canvas.  By  great  exertions  they  bent  new  sails,  but 
it  was  not  until  after  seventy-two  hours  beating  that 


GENEROSITY   OF  THE   EUROPA.  269^ 

she  was  enabled  to  get  an  offing  that  secured  her 
safety. 

From  this  time  up  to  July  4th  we  saw  little  and 
done  less,  with  the  single  exception  of  lowering 
away  for  a  sperm  whale  on  June  the  6th,  but  seeing 
nothing  of  him  after  we  had  dropped  our  boats.  On 
the  4th,  whilst  in  company  with  the  Europa,  making 
for  the  Abrolhas'  Islands,  we  sighted  sperm  whales, 
lowered,  struck,  and  killed  one.  Previous  to  striking 
we  had  hoisted  our  ensign,  which  was  imitated  by 
the  Europa.  This  signal  was  a  bond  of  copartner- 
ship between  the  two  ships  during  the  day's  opera- 
tions, each  being  entitled  to  half  the  proceeds  of  the 
day's  capture.  The  Europa  did  not  fasten,  but  chased 
the  whales  to  windward,  in  which  pursuit  we  lost 
sight  of  her;  meantime  we  tried  out  our  whale  and 
stowed  it  between  decks,  so  that  we  would  have  but 
little  trouble  in  giving  her  her  half  of  it  when  we 
met.  After  some  days  we  fell  in  with  her,  when  her 
captain,  with  a  generosity  unusual  with  his  profes- 
sion, declined  taking  any  part  of  it,  assigning  as  a 
reason  our  long-continued  bad  luck;  saying,  that 
after  having  taken  but  one  whale  in  six  months,  it 
would  be  too  bad  to  deprive  us  of  half  of  that. 

The  Europa  had  experienced  a  hard  time  of  it 
since  we  had  last  seen  her,  meeting  with  several  of 
those  accidents  which  the  vicissitudes  of  a  seaman's 
life  render  him  ever  liable  to  —  having,  in  the  fii^t 
place,  shipped  a  sea  that  went  completely  over  her, 
and  stove  the  three  larboard  boats  almost  beyond 
repair ;  then,  again,  having  run  close  in  towards  the 
land  in  hopes  of  seeing  us,  she  had  been  jammed 
between  the  Turtle  Dove,  Abrolhas'  and  main  land, 
23* 


270  SPORT  IN  THE   DESTRUCTION   OF  SEALS. 

in  a  gale  of  wind,  when  crowding  sail  to  madness 
was  their  only  hope ;  but,  fortunately,  a  timely  shift 
of  wind  enabled  them  to  clear  the  main  land  by  a 
hair's  breadth,  and  dispelled  all  their  gloomy  fears. 

On  the  16th  both  vessels  stood  in  for  the  Abrolhas* 
Islands,  and  at  9  o'clock  w^ere  snugly  anchored  amid 
the  cluster,  of  which,  by  ascending  our  tops,  twenty- 
five  different  islands  could  be  counted.  As  soon  as 
our  ground-tackle  w^as  secured,  we  struck  the  topsail 
and  topgallant  yards  and  the  topgallantmasts,  housed 
our  mizzen  topmast,  and  then  unbent  all  the  sails, 
except  the  spensers:  our  object  beingto  present  as  little 
surface  as  possible  to  the  action  of  the  wind ;  thereby 
rendering  our  anchorage  more  secure.  The  anchor- 
age showed  coarse  white  sand,  combined  with  pul- 
verized coral  and  shell,  which  constitutes  excellent 
holding-ground. 

Kot  expecting  the  humpbacks  in  before  the  first 
of  August,  we  passed  the  time  in  making  excursions 
to  the  various  islands  of  the  group.  We  soon  found 
a  novel  and  exciting  sport  in  the  destruction  of 
seals,  which  exist  here  in  great  numbers.  These 
creatures  bring  forth  their  young  on  the  land;  and, 
this  being  the  season  in  which  they  breed,  they  could 
at  all  times  be  seen  basking  in  the  sun,  fast  asleep, 
and  quietly  enjoying  themselves  to  the  full.  Our 
method  of  attack  was  to  approach  as  slyly  as  pos- 
sible, and  deal  heavy  blows  on  the  tip  of  the  nose, 
which  is  the  most  sensitive  portion  of  their  organism. 
If  w^ell  aimed,  the  first  blow  despatches  them ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  if  you  should  deliver  it  on  the  shoul- 
ders, back,  or  quarters,  it  seems  to  produce  no  dele- 
terious efiect  on  the  animal,  which  instantly  rears 


A  YOUNG   SEAL  CAPTURED   ALIVE  AND   KEPT.     271 

Upon  his  hind  flippers,  and,  with  a  sharp,  queruloua 
yelp,  displays  a  set  of  ivories  little  interior  to  those 
of  the  lion;  however,  it  requires  hardly  any  address 
on  the  part  of  the  pursuer  to  avoid  him.  When  the 
animal  once  gets  into  water,  no  matter  how  shallow, 
farther  chase  becomes  hopeless,  as  it  can  then  propel 
itself  at  a  powerful  rate ;  but  while  on  land,  though 
its  movements  are  by  no  means  slow,  it  is  no  match 
for  a  good  runner. 

A  young  seal,  by  the  knowing  ones  said  to  be 
about  six  weeks  old,  was  captured  alive,  passed 
into  the  boat,  and  carried  aboard  the  ship.  It  seemed 
in  no  wise  disconcerted,  except  at  night  when  a  light 
was  placed  near  its  eyes,  whereat  it  became  much 
alarmed.  It  showed  but  little  timidity  when  caressed, 
and  evidently  considered  our  dog  as  one  of  its  own 
species,  so  solicitous  was  it  to  form  an  intimacy  with 
him  ;  but  puppy  fought  shy,  and  avoided  companion- 
ship with  the  amphibious  creature.  From  its  docility, 
we  anticipated  keeping  it  for  a  long  time ;  yet  during 
the  several  days  that  it  was  retained,  although  ofi'ered 
both  small  and  large  fish,  it  would  partake  of  no 
sustenance,  but  wandered  fore  and  aft  the  decks, 
crying  for  its  dam  in  a  note  not  unlike  that  the  cow- 
calf  uses  on  similar  occasions.  We  were  at  last  reluc- 
tantly compelled  to  kill  it  —  stuffing  the  skin  for  a 
memorial.  The  skins  of  these,  known  as  the  hair- 
seal  variety,  are  of  little  value  intrinsically ;  but, 
being  easily  tanned,  they  were  very  useful  to  us  as 
chafing-gear  for  the  rigging. 

Some  of  our  savants,  having  either  themselves 
eaten,  or  having  heard  of  other  persons  eating,  the 
liver  of  the  seal,  assiduously  extracted,  cleaned,  and 


272       MANGEOVE-TEEE  AND  RABBITS  ON  LONG  ISLAND. 

cooked  one.  It  being  a  young  seal,  the  dish  proved 
very  palatable,  in  taste  much  resembling  hog's  liver. 
All  now  became  alert  to  procure  a  fresh  supply  of 
them  ;  but,  as  it  happened,  the  next  seal  pitched  upon 
was  a  patriarch  of  the  gang,  whose  destroyers  were 
overjoyed  indeed  at  the  quantity  yielded  by  their 
prize,  and  brought  it  aboard  the  ship  with  the  air  of 
conquerors.  The  cook  dressed  it ;  but,  lo,  and  be- 
hold !  the  following  day,  most  of  those  who  had  par- 
taken of  it  were  affected  by  nausea  at  the  stomach 
and  distressing  headache  —  half  of  the  number  be- 
ing unable  to  leave  their  berths:  consequences,  I 
opine,  arising  from  the  indigestibility  of  the  liver, 
rendered  tough  by  the  animal's  great  age.  Since 
then  I  have  been  assured  that  this  is  b}^  no  means 
an  isolated  case  of  indisposition  from  the  same  cause. 
In  rambling,  we  found  Long  Island  the  most  in- 
viting of  the  group.  It  was  scantily  furnished  with 
several  varieties  of  low  shrubs ;  amongst  which  were 
the  native  Australian  gooseberry  and  a  species  of  wild 
oats.  There  are  also  on  the  island  several  thickets  of 
the  mangrove,  which,  from  the  peculiar  growth  of  the 
trees,  though  of  only  a  moderate  height,  are  almost 
impenetrable.  This  tree  affords  excellent  fuel,  and 
we  took  advantage  of  this  by  cutting  and  carrying 
away  some  eight  or  ten  cords  of  it  for  firewood.  Its 
fracture  is  of  a  light  yellowish  color,  and  the  heart 
of  it  is  decayed,  but  I  cannot  say  whether  this  is 
owing  to  the  bad  quality  of  the  soil,  or  is  a  natural 
characteristic  of  the  wood.  It  is  very  heavy.  The 
leaf  is  small,  and  eagerly  sought  for  by  the  rabbits, 
which  abound  on  the  island.  Several  pairs  of  these 
little  creatures  were  placed  here  years  ago,  and  they 


EGGS   OF   GULLS  AND   THE   OSPREY.  273 

have  increased  until  their  number  is  legion.  Had 
they  a  supply  of  fresh  water,  they  would  in  a  short 
time  become  so  much  more  numerous  as  to  consume 
all  the  herbage  within  their  reach.  We  seldom 
visited  the  island  without  bringing  away  half-a-dozen 
of  them.  Occasionally,  in  running  our  arms  into 
the  burrows  for  rabbits,  we  would  take  hold  of  a 
disgusting  iguana,  or  get  a  handful  of  small  eggs, 
deposited  by  a  very  diminutive  variety  of  gull,  that 
burrows  in  the  ground,  and  there  hatches  its  young. 
The  whole  island  is  excavated  by  these  little  diggers. 
Their  eggs,  almost  double  the  size  of  a  pigeon- 
egg,  have  a  white  shell,  and  are  very  excellent  eat- 
ing. The  larger  gulls  lay  an  egg  superior  in  size 
to  those  of  our  domestic  hens,  which  are  mottled, 
and  food  fit  for  an  epicure.  The  shag,  another 
variety,  lays  a  pink  egg,  of  goodly  size,  which  is  also 
equally  palatable.  These  birds  would  lay  on  the 
bare  ground ;  and,  on  our  robbing  their  depositories, 
they  would  move  to  another  island,  and  repeat  the 
process.  This  they  did  four  or  &ve  times,  and  at 
last  either  gave  up  in  despair,  or  lit  upon  some  place 
secure  from  our  depredations ;  for  we  were  unable 
to  procure  a  further  supply. 

On  Long  Island  we  saw  several  osprey-nests,  in 
one  of  which  were  eggs ;  in  another,  the  half-fiedged 
young  of  the  species.  The  eggs  were  about  the  size 
of  a  goose-egg;  but,  as  we  had  reason  to  think  they 
were  addled,  we  had  no  opportunity  of  testing  their 
fitness  for  the  table. 

During  the  whole  of  one  day  we  observed  immense 
flocks  of  birds  flying  in  the  direction  of  this  island, 
and  on  visiting  it  found  the  clumps  of  mangroves 

S 


274  IMMENSE   NUMBER   OF  BIRDS. 

literally  swarming  with  small  birds  about  the  size  of 
a  blackbird,  busily  engaged  in  building  nests  from 
the  kelp  which  is  thrown  up  by  the  surf.  They 
seemed  to  take  but  little  notice  of  us.  We  held  a 
consultation,  and  finally  decided  that  they  were  fit  to 
be  eaten,  and,  in  pursuance  of  this  resolution,  began 
bagging  them.  This  we  found  but  little  trouble ;  all 
that  was  necessary  being  to  ascend  one  of  the  man- 
grove trees,  and,  as  the  birds  wheeled  around  in 
circles  to  more  nearly  examine  our,  to  them,  strange 
appearance,  knock  them  down  left  and  right.  In 
this  way  but  very  few  minutes  elapsed  before  we  had 
sufiicient  for  our  purposes  —  two  hundred  and  fifty 
of  the  little  feathered  bipeds  being  a  mess  for  the 
ship's  company ;  and  all  united  in  deciding  that  they 
made  an  exceedingly  savory  stew.  We  repeated  the 
operation  often  after  having  been  initiated  into  their 
good  qualities.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
number  consumed,  when  I  state  that  the  feathers, 
which  were  saved  by  old  Jack,  weighed  twenty 
pounds;  the  old  salt  in  his  green  old  age  being  de- 
termined to  have  a  soft  bed  to  repose  his  weather- 
worn limbs  upon.  To  this  end  he  had  been  collect- 
ing feathers  during  the  greater  part  of  the  voyage — 
albatrosses,  monimokes,  ducks,  pigeons,  hawks,  and 
whale  birds,  contributing  each  their  quota  to  his 
store. 

I  cannot  take  leave  of  this  subject  without  attempt- 
ing to  give  some  idea  of  the  immense  numbers  of  the 
birds.  I  had  read  of  the  innumerable  flocks  of  wild 
pigeons  which  frequent  our  Western  States,  and  I 
had  seen  at  sea  immense  flocks  of  various  birds 
migrating  to  other  countries,  but  I  had  never  formed 


DEAD  man's  island.  275 

an  estimate  that  came  within  many  removes  of  the 
actual  number  I  here  saw.  I  can  indeed  liken  them 
to  nothing  else,  as  regards  number,  than  a  swarm  of 
bees;  their  bodies  obscuring  the  sun's  light  when 
they  passed  overhead,  and  a  stone  thrown  at  random 
never  failing  to  meet  a  mark. 

The  conchological  specimens  found  on  these  islands 
are  varied  but  inelegant ;  they  comprise  both  descrip- 
tions of  the  nautilus  —  the  true  and  paper  varieties 
being  found  in  abundance.  These  shells  externally 
possess  but  little  beauty,  but  on  being  sawn  apart  in 
a  lateral  direction,  they  present  a  handsome  pearly 
arrangement  contained  in  an  air-tight  apartment  in 
the  base  of  the  shell.  A  small  variety  of  the  cowrie, 
too,  is  abundant.  There  are  also  periwinkles,  scollops, 
and  oysters,  all  three  of  which  are  excellent  eating, 
and,  therefore,  were  in  great  request  with  us. 

Crabs  are  also  found  in  great  numbers,  and  can  be 
had  for  the  trouble  of  picking  up  ;  so  that  we  made 
shift  to  fare  pretty  well  during  our  stay  here. 

One  of  the  islands  to  which  we  made  several  ex- 
cursions, was  known  as  Dead  Man's  Island,  from  the 
fact  that  an  encounter  between  the  members  of  the 
crew  of  a  Spanish  ship,  which  was  wrecked  on  the 
reef  in  the  seventeenth  century,  resulted  in  the  death 
of  several  of  their  number.  The  circumstances  are 
these :  the  crew,  after  their  vessel  was  stranded,  made 
for  this  island,  having  saved  provisions  and  other 
articles,  amongst  which  was  a  chest  of  treasure.  A 
dispute  arising  regarding  the  ownership  of  this 
treasure,  from  words  they  proceeded  to  blows  and 
bloodshed,  and  some  of  them  were  sacrificed  to  their 
avaricious  spirit.   After  the  battle  the  defeated  party 


276  BURIED   TREASURE. 

were  banished  to  another  island,  and  the  cause  of 
strife  was  deposited  for  greater  security  on  Square 
Island,  where,  tradition  says,  it  still  remains;  and 
many  have  been  induced  by  the  rumor,  incited  by 
love  of  gain  or  adventure,  to  toil  in  hopes  of  its 
eclaircissement.  To  this  day  human  bones  are  to  be 
seen  on  the  surface,  and  had  there  been  as  good  evi- 
dence of  the  treasure  as  of  the  struggle,  no  doubt 
our  Yankee  inquisitiveness  and  acquisitiveness  would 
have  induced  some  of  us  to  have  made  search  for  it. 

I  can  imagine  no  more  inhospitable  locality  for  a 
ship's  company  to  be  cast  away  than  amongst  these 
islands.  They  would  be  unable  to  find  any  material 
to  erect  a  covering  for  protection'  from  the  weather, 
unless  some  portions  of  their  vessel  were  cast  ashore — 
the  islands  themselves  supplying  nothing  of  the  kind. 
To  be  sure  they  might  manage  to  eke  out  a  subsist- 
ence from  the  birds  and  fish  which  are  so  abundant 
at  certain  periods  of  the  year ;  but  they  would  be 
unable  to  exist  without  water  in  the  summer  season, 
when,  for  months,  no  rain  falls.  The  only  place 
where  we  found  any  fresh  water  was  on  Middle 
Island ;  and  it  was  a  mere  deposit  of  rain,  in  a  well 
dug  by  the  whaling  party  who  formerly  made  it  the 
scene  of  their  fishing  operations. 

On  the  27th  of  July  we  sent  off  two  boats  from 
each  ship  to  erect  a  look-out  on  an  island  several  miles 
to  seaward  of  the  ship.  Whilst  the  boats  were  thus 
engaged  the  crews  saw  humpback  whales,  but  fore- 
bore  to  meddle  with  them,  supposing  them  to  be 
the  pioneers  of  the  school  said  to  frequent  these 
islands,  and  wishing  to  do  nothing  at  this  early  date 
to  scare  them  from  the  haunts.     On  their  return  to 


BOATS  SENT  TO  CHAMPION  BAY.        277 

the  ship  with  this  cheering  intelligence,  all  was  bustle 
and  activity.  The  blubber-room  was  cleared  out, 
useless  casks  were  sent  ashore,  and  every  preparation 
was  made  to  carry  on  whaling  with  the  utmost  spirit ; 
but  alas !  for  the  vanity  and  frailty  of  human  ex- 
pectations, these  were  the  sole  and  only  representa- 
tives of  their  species  that  we  had  a  sight  at  during 
our  five  weeks'  sojourn  amongst  the  Abrolhas'. 
Things  thus  remained  in  statu  quo  until  the  14th, 
when,  as  we  began  to  send  up  spars  and  make  pre- 
parations for  our  departure,  the  luminous  idea  struck 
somebody  of  sending  one  or  more  boats  over  to 
Champion  Bay,  to  ascertain  whether  whales  had 
been  seen  on  the  coast,  and  whether  the  Port  Gregory 
whaling  company  had  accomplished  anything  during 
the  present  season.  In  pursuance  of  this  resolution  a 
boat  from  each  ship,  provisioned  for  a  week,  was  de- 
spatched to  the  main,  under  the  conduct  of  the  mates 
of  the  respective  vessels.  We  started  at  1  o'clock 
P.  M.  with  a  fair  wind,  and  at  nine  the  same  evening 
made  the  main  land,  in  the  vicinity  of  a  headland 
known  as  the  Wizard's  Peak.  In  the  opinion  of  our 
fourth  mate,  who  had  been  here  previously,  we  were 
too  far  to  the  northward,  and,  as  the  line  of  breakers 
presented  no  point  where  we  could  land,  in  pursuance 
of  his  suggestion  we  kept  off  to  the  southward,  and 
continued  running  until  midnight,  when  w^e  anchored 
in  fifteen  fathoms  of  water,  and  endeavored  to  get 
some  sleep ;  one  of  our  number  standing  watch  all 
through  the  night.  At  daybreak  we  resumed  our 
course  to  the  southward  until  about  3  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  when  we  became  convinced  of  the  inca- 
pacity of  our  pilot,  and  thought  it  advisable  to  retrace 
24 


278  BOATS  ARRIVE  AT   CHAMPION  BAY. 

our  course  to  the  northward ;  the  wind  being  ahead, 
we  had  to  pull  in  the  teeth  of  wind  and  sea.  At 
dark  we  again  came  to  anchor  in  fourteen  fathoms 
of  water,  and  passed  the  night  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  preceding  one.  At  daylight,  seeing  nothing 
of  the  entrance,  the  feasibility  of  a  return  to  the 
ship  w^as  mooted,  but  as  our  supply  of  w^ater  had 
dwindled  to  a  gallon  in  both  boats,  we  were  loath  to 
adopt  this  measure,  except  as  a  dernier  resort ;  but 
the  wind,  fortunately  for  us,  having  hauled  during 
the  night,  we  set  sail,  and  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  discovered  the  wished  for  haven  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  peak  w^e  had  sighted  the  first  night — 
a  very  fortunate  conclusion  to  our  misadventure.  On 
reflection,  we  could  now  see  the  dangers  of  our  late 
situation.  Had  a  gale  come  on  from  the  westward  we 
could  not  possibly  have  escaped  being  driven  on 
shore ;  and  if  it  had  come  from  the  eastward,  even 
provided  our  boats  had  not  been  swamped,  we  were 
without  a  supply  of  water,  and  must  have  perished 
from  thirst  before  w^e  could  have  reached  the  ship. 

On  our  landing  at  Champion  Bay  we  were  met 
upon  the  beach  by  the  three  magistrates  of  the  set- 
tlement, and  a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  anxiously  inquired  if  we  had  been  w^recked. 
On  our  answering  in  the  negative,  they  inquired 
where  we  were  from.  On  our  again  answering,  the 
barques  Pacific  and  Europa,  at  the  Abrolhas'  Islands, 
they  evidently  regarded  us  with  suspicion — thinking 
that  we  were  either  mutineers  or  deserters,  who  had 
fabricated  this  story  for  our  own  purposes ;  and  I  be- 
lieve that,  had  they  dared,  or  even  had  they  thought 
themselves   the   strongest  party,   they  would  have 


THE  MEDUC^  AND  THE  WHALES.       279 

clapped  us  all  in  limbo,  until  assured  of  the  truth  of 
the  story  we  told.  We  heard  whisperings  as  to  our 
physical  ability.  The  boats'  crews  being  picked  men, 
they  said,  were  a  very  rugged-looking  set  of  fellows ; 
and  the  fact  of  each  man  being  provided  with  his 
belt  and  sheath-knife  seemed  a  recommendation  to 
their  respect.  Then,  again,  had  there  been  any  diffi- 
culty, the  penal  population,  who  are  largely  in  the 
majority,  would  have  readily  joined  the  strangers,  in 
hopes  of  being  delivered  by  them  from  their  penal 
servitude. 

Oar  first  queries  were,  as  to  whether  whales  had 
been  seen  in  any  numbers  on  the  coast  the  present 
season.  They  stated,  that,  from  some  unknown 
cause,  the  whales'  food  was  not  so  plenty  as  it  is 
during  most  years  at  this  period.  The  meducae, 
which  exist  in  great  quantities,  or  rather  numbers, 
generally  by  their  volume  gave  to  the  water  a  yel- 
lowish hue,  but  at  present  scarcely  any  indication 
of  their  existence  was  perceptible ;  therefore,  although 
the  whales  had  appeared  as  usual,  they  made  but  a 
short  stay.  The  Port  Gregory  fishery  had  been  for- 
tunate enough,  during  their  brief  visit,  to  capture 
five  of  them  —  making  quite  a  profitable  season's 
business.  They  took  their  last  whale  some  weeks 
since  —  about  the  same  time  that  we  saw  whales  at 
the  Abrolhas' ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  we  were  too 
late  for  the  season. 

On  our  informing  them  that  there  were  no  whales 
at  the  Abrolhas'  Islands,  they  professed  much  sur- 
prise, and  would  scarcely  give  credence  to  our  intel- 
ligence ;  stating  that,  for  years,  every  vessel  which 
had  passed  these  islands  had  borne  testimony  to  the 


280        COPPER-ORE  —  TRADE  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT. 

immense  number  of  whales    that    frequented  the 
waters  around  them. 

Having  now  progressed  up  towards  the  settlement, 
we  found  it  neatly  situated,  although  the  buildings, 
which  number  about  sixty,  were  much  scattered. 
The  herbage  appears  luxuriant,  and  the  soil  fertile. 
Many  of  the  settlers  own  immense  flocks  of  sheep 
and  herds  of  bullocks;  but  they  deprecate  the  system 
of  raising  stock  with  a  view  to  a  pecuniary  return  : 
for  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  settlement  there 
grew,  I  was  assured,  no  less  than  sixteen  varieties 
of  vegetable  poisons,  which  the  cattle  browse,  and 
are  soon  afterwards  aflected  by  spasms  that  result 
in  death. 

A  short  distance  from  the  settlement  there  is  an 
extensive  copper-mine,  which  is  the  means  of  afford- 
ing employment  to  most  of  the  inhabitants.  The  ore 
is  said  to  be  very  rich,  and  is  exported  to  England, 
whence  several  vessels  were  daily  expected  for  freights 
of  it.  This  article  afibrds  their  only  means  of  com- 
merce with  foreign  countries :  their  supplies  and  wool 
coming  through,  and  being  shipped  from.  Freeman- 
tie,  to  and  from  which  city  cutters  continually  ply. 

The  wind  being  unfavorable  for  us  to  return  to 
the  ship,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  enjoy  life  ashore, 
for  a  day  or  two,  as  well  as  circumstances  would 
allow.  So,  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  the 
clerk  of  the  weather,  we  took  up  our  quarters  at  the 
only  public  house  in  the  place,  and  were  soon  deep 
in  the  discussion  of  a  dinner,  consisting  for  the  most 
part  of  fresh  mutton.  We  had  brought  with  us 
several  hams,  which  the  habitues  of  the  house  pre- 
ferred to  the  fresh  meat.    "We  therefore  had  them 


RESTRICTION   OF  LICENSE  TO   SELL   SPIRITS.       281 

boiled,  to  their  as  well  as  our  own  satifaction ;  for 
while  they  were  engaged  with  the  bacon,  we  were 
enabled  to  appropriate  to  our  ourselves  the  lion's 
share  of  the  other  edibles,  which  —  as  our  appetites 
had  been  sharpened  by  between  sixty  and  seventy 
hours'  exposure  to  the  bracing  sea-breeze,  with  a 
spice  of  hard  pulling  —  we  were  fully  competent  to 
dispose  of. 

Kot  feeling  in  the  mood  to  cruise  around  much 
during  the  afternoon,  the  greater  part  of  us  remained 
about  the  house,  wondering,  from  the  sparsity  of  the 
landlord's  visitors,  how  he  managed  to  eke  out  a 
living ;  but,  as  soon  as  night  approached,  we  were 
convinced  that  he  lacked  not  for  customers,  who  now 
one  after  another  dropped  in  to  have  a  look  at  us, 
and  imbibe  the  potations  he  had  to  dispense. 

One  thing  is  greatly  in  favor  of  this  colony  ;  that 
is,  the  government  has  as  yet  refused  to  grant  a 
license  for  the  sale  of  spirits  in  less  quantities  than 
a  gallon;  and,  as  a  gallon  costs  two  pounds  ster- 
ling, (equivalent  to  nine  dollars  and  eighty-eight 
cents  of  our  money,)  the  ardent  is  not  within  the 
reach  of  everybody.  During  the  time  we  remained 
in  the  place,  I  did  not  see  a  glass  of  spirits  drank. 
Malt-liquors,  comprising  porter,  ale,  and  beer,  were 
however  swallowed  without  regard  to  quality  or 
quantity. 

Here,  a*s  well  as  everywhere  else  that  I  have  visited 
in  these  colonies,  the  males  and  females  alike  fre- 
quent the  tap-room.  They  were  all  very  hospitable, 
and  it  may  be  imagined  how  it  sounded  to  our  ears, 
for  a  matronly-looking  woman,  with  a  child  held  by 
the  hand,  to  address  us  with,  "What  will  you  have 
24* 


282  FLEAS.  —  A  TRAMP  INTO  THE   COUNTRY. 

to  drink,  Jack?"  while  everybody  about  seemed  to 
regard  it  as  a  matter  of  propriety. 

At  night,  as  there  were  not  beds  sufficient  for  our 
accommodation,  we  took  a  shake  down  in  the  dining- 
room,  using  kangaroo-skins  as  blankets.  "We  had 
scarcely  got  settled,  before  we  were  rolling,  pitching, 
and  tossing,  by  way  of  a  forced  accompaniment  to 
the  flea-bites  that  were  being  inflicted  upon  us :  the 
numbers  of  these  pests  being  myriads.  Although 
they  are  little  heeded  by  those  who  are  acclimated 
here  and  inured  to  their  tortures,  yet  to  us  thinner- 
skinned  gentry  these  fleas  now  proved  objects  of  real 
terror.  For  hours,  sleep  was  out  of  the  question. 
All  of  us  had  been  accustomed  to  considerable  blood- 
letting aboard  from  the  bed-bugs  that  always  infest 
old  ships  in  warm  weather;  but  we  were  by  no 
means  prepared  for  a  wholesale  depletion  by  these 
vampires.  At  length,  towards  morning,  we  managed 
to  gain  some  intermission  from  their  attacks,  and 
the  sun  had  made  a  great  portion  of  his  daily  journey 
ere  we  broke  our  slumbers. 

After  breakfast  was  over,  we  took  a  tramp,  and 
found  that  we  were  not  deceived  in  our  estimate  of 
the  country.  Instead  of  the  sandy  surface  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  see  in  the  southern  sections  of 
the  colony,  there  was  here  an  excellent  soil,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  crops  promised  an  abundant  har- 
vest ;  while  the  live  stock  we  saw  were  in  a  good 
condition. 

The  trees  here  embrace  all  the  varieties  of  the  she- 
oak,  bankshire,  mahogany,  peppermint,  blackberry 
and  raspberry  jam,  and  some  little  way  in  the  inte- 
rior the  precious  sandal-wood  is  found. 


A   SPECIMEN   OF  YANKEE  WOOD-CHOPPING.        283 

The  houses  are  of  stone,  and  neatly  fashioned : 
mahogany  being  applied  to  all  the  various  purposes 
of  the  architect — its  great  plentifulness  and  durability 
rendering  it  preferable  to  any  other  wood  they 
possess. 

The  following  day,  the  wind  still  being  unfavor- 
able and  precluding  our  departure,  the  officers  in 
charge  of  the  expedition  l)egan  to  feel  alarmed  as  to 
the  insufficiency  of  their  funds  —  the  whole  amount 
of  money  brought  being  ten  pounds,  or  fifty  dollars ; 
this  amount  would  not  go  very  far  towards  the  sup- 
port of  thirteen  men,  for  any  length  of  time,  in  a 
place  where  all  the  necessaries  of  life  were  held  at 
an  exorbitant  price.  J^ow  that  their  suspicions  had 
worn  off  as  to  our  true  character,  I  do  not  think 
that  they  would  have  allowed  us  to  want ;  still,  we 
did  not  feel  inclined  to  depend  on  their  charity,  so 
we  asked  them  if  there  was  any  work  that  we  could 
perform.  The  only  branches  of  business  open  were 
wood-chopping  and  supplying  the  community  with 
fresh  fish ;  they  possessing  no  boats,  and  the  snapper 
banks  being  some  distance  from  the  settlement,  it  is 
only  by  chance  that  they  are  enabled  to  indulge  their 
appetites  for  them.  "We,  on  this  information,  held  a 
consultation,  and  one  party,  including  the  two  officers, 
shouldered  axes  and  went  into  the  woods,  where 
they  gave  the  colonials  a  specimen  of  Yankee  wood- 
chopping  ;  the  rest  of  us  took  the  boats,  and,  having 
been  supplied  with  tackle,  made  their  hearts  glad  by 
a  display  of  fish  superior  to  any  they  had  seen  for  a 
long  time. 

This  was  a  pretty  specimen  of  occupation  for  gen- 
tlemen's sons  to  engage  in ;  but  it  only  verifies  our 


284  LEAVE   CHAMPION  BAT. 

national  peculiarities :  and  the  originator  of  the 
remark  that  a  Yankee,  with  or  without  his  jack-knife, 
could  make  a  living  anywhere,  was  not  far  from,  the 
truth. 

The  natives  here,  as  elsewhere,  are  the  same  miser- 
able, debased  race ;  but  are  ruled  by  an  iron  hand — 
the  early  experience  of  the  colonists  forcing  them  to 
adopt  severe  measures  to  secure  them  against  the 
depredations  of  these  nomadic  tribes.  I  was  informed 
that  little  account  was  taken  of  the  death  of  one  of 
them,  by  a  white  man's  agency,  if  detected  in  any 
little  peccadillo  ;  but  a  few  years  since  the  whites  were 
still  more  severe,  shooting  the  natives  down  like  dogs 
whenever  they  approached  their  habitations. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  19th 
we  bade  farew^ell  to  Champion  Bay,  under  strict 
surveillance  of  the  authorities  —  they  being  fearful 
that  we  would  convey  away  some  of  the  prisoners. 
We  were  favored  with  a  fair  wind,  and  at  4  o'clock 
the  same  afternoon  boarded  the  ship,  perfectly  sat- 
isfied with  our  jaunt.  We  found  that  during  our 
absence  changes  had  taken  place — a  Portuguese  boy, 
whom  w^e  shipp-ed  at  Flores,  having  exchanged,  and 
gone  aboard  the  Europa  as  steward ;  her  former 
steward,  a  native  of  New  York  city,  having  received 
his  discharge  on  account  of  inability,  from  sickness, 
to  perform  his  duty.  He  is  suffering  from  spasmodic 
stricture  of  the  urethra,  and  goes  with  us  to  Mauritius 
in  order  to  procure  efficient  medical  aid.  He  lives  in 
the  forecastle,  and,  as  well  as  his  health  permits, 
agrees  to  perform  duty  as  a  foremast  hand;  on 
arriving  at  Mauritius,  it  is  optional  with  him  cither 
to  remain  ashore  or  go  with  us  to  the  United  States. 


6ALT  WATER   BALLAST.  285 

Daring  the  whole  time  that  we  lay  at  anchor  here, 
the  most  intimate  relations  existed  between  all  grades 
of  the  two  ships'  companies ;  every  day  and  every 
night  we  held  re-unions,  in  which,  by  merriment,  we 
strove  to  dispel  the  recollection  of  being  so  far 
separated  from  home.  A  boat  seldom  left  either  ship 
on  an  excursion  for  pleasure,  without  calling  on  the 
other  party  to  see  if  any  wished  to  go ;  and  if  either 
ship  was  to  be  kedged  ahead,  or  her  anchorage 
shifted,  the  other  crew  were  ever  ready  to  volunteer 
their  assistance. 

One  favorite  trip  was  to  go  with  the  boat  to  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  heavy  surf  that  broke  on  the 
reef  at  low  water,  where  live  shells  were  to  be  col- 
lected. These  were  then  buried  in  sand,  or  immersed 
in  fresh  water,  until  the  death  of  the  animal  rendered 
dislodging  him  from  his  shell  an  easy  task.  In  this 
manner  we  cleaned  them,  wdthout  impairing  the 
enamel,  which  so  greatly  enhances  their  beauty. 

One  of  our  last  moves  previous  to  sailing,  was  to 
stow  some  two  hundred  barrels  of  salt  water  in  our 
after-hold,  the  ship  being  so  light  as  to  render  more 
weight  in  her  hold  necessary  to  make  her  seaworthy ; 
we  having  put  into  her  nothing  like  her  carrying 
capacit}''  of  oil,  and  having  eaten  the  principal  part 
of  the  provisions,  there  remained  but  little  in  her  to 
act  as  ballast. 

Having  now  been  from  home  almost  our  allotted 
period,  we  have  exhausted  almost  all  the  original 
supplies.  Our  meat  is  reduced  to  some  forty  barrels, 
flour  to  ten  or  twelve,  sugar  none,  molasses  none, 
(the  latter  we  procured  a  supply  of  from  the  Europa,) 
and  our  tea  is  so  near  its  ultimatum  th^t  it  is  reserved 


286         CONDITION  OF  OUR  BARQUE. 

for  special  occasions,  and  coffee  takes  its  place  as  a 
beverage  for  supper.  Our  boats  are  nearly  all  worth- 
less, and  now  only  comprise  the  four  on  the  cranes — 
two  having  been  disposed  of  to  Captain  Phinney,  of 
the  Europa ;  who  likewise  got  all  of  the  spare  oars. 
We  have  but  one  respectable  set  of  topsails  and 
courses  that  can  be  depended  upon  in  heavy  weather, 
and  are  ill  provided  for  a  much  longer  stay  from 
home.  Should  we  take  another  cruise  or  two,  the 
expenses  of  refitting  would  be  great;  and,  should  we 
then  do  nothing,  instead  of  a  source  of  profit  to  the 
owners,  we  would  prove  a  burden,  independent  of 
the  loss  of  time  to  ourselves.  At  the  same  time  we 
feel  loath  to  return  with  so  sorry  a  cargo ;  and  there 
are  a  number  amongst  us  who  are  anxious  and  wil- 
ling to  risk  the  prospect  of  another  six  months'  or  a 
year's  work,  so  as  to  have  something  due  them  on 
their  return ;  forgetting  that,  although  they  were  to 
land  penniless,  the  six  or  twelve  months  thus  spent 
at  sea,  if  steadily  devoted  to  some  occupation  ashore, 
would  return  a  much  larger  sum. 

At  11  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  20th,  we 
weighed  our  anchors  with  the  intention  of  going  out ; 
but  no  sooner  were  they  tripped,  than  the  current  set 
us  down  upon  the  Europa,  which  lay  a  cable's  length 
astern.  All  hands  jumped  on  the  taffrail  and  quar- 
ters, and  shoving  with  might  and  main,  prevented 
a  collision.  We  then  kedged  her  ahead,  and,  finding 
it  impossible  for  us  to  leave  until  the  Europa  sailed, 
we  lowered  our  boats  and  towed  her  into  the  channel. 
Then  kedging  ahead  to  clear  the  shoal,  after  nar- 
rowly escaping  planting  her  stern  on  it,  off  she  went 
in  gallant  style. 


THE  EUROPA  —  ALTERATIONS  OF  WHALESHIPS.     287 

The  Europa  went  out  rigged  as  a  barque.  Her  miz- 
zenmast  being  defective,  carrying  sail  on  it  would  be 
rather  hazardous ;  so  her  crossjack,  mizzen  topsail, 
and  topgallant  yards,  were  sent  down,  and  the  leg- 
of-mutton-shaped  gaft-topsail  substituted  in  the  stead 
of  the  canvas  pertaining  to  them. 

These  whaleships  often  undergo  striking  changes 
between  the  date  of  their  leaving  home  and  the 
period  of  their  return :  the  captain  possessing  a  dis- 
cretionary power  to  pull  down  and  build  up  any  of 
his  ship's  arrangements.  But,  woe  betide  him !  if 
he  does  anything  that  results  disastrously,  unless  he 
makes  a  good  voyage  (which  last  is  the  i^ew-Bedford 
apology  for  a  multitude  of  sins).  Some  old-fashioned 
skippers  are  content  with  leaving  things  as  they 
find  them;  whilst  those  of  the  more  modern  school 
want  their  quarter-deck  made  clear,  so  that  when  in 
port  a  fore-and-after  can  be  indulged  in  by  the  select 
assemblages  who  then  ordinarily  rendezvous  aboard 
whalers. 

By  the  way,  I  recently  heard  a  story  about  a  party 
of  such  visitants,  who  boarded  the  ship  Twilight  in 
King  George's  Sound.  Amongst  them  were  the 
daughters  of  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  families  in 
the  town.  The  steward  of  the  vessel,  supposing  of 
course  that  they  were  ladies,  had  gone  to  consider- 
able pains  in  preparing  a  collation,  which  the  guests 
seemed  much  to  enjoy.  After  concluding  their  re- 
past, they  stuffed  their  pockets  with  the  cakes  they 
were  unable  to  eat ;  indeed,  one  went  so  far  as  to 
make  her  bosom  a  storehouse  for  provender.  They 
then  adjourned  to  the  quarter-deck  for  a  dance ;  and, 
as  they  displayed  much  activity  during  its  progress, 


288      OUR   FEELINGS   ON   LEAVING  THE  ABROLHAS'. 

the  hidden  dainties  were  dropped  :  an  eclaircissement 
which  much  surprised  the  neophytes  of  the  ship,  who 
were  unaccustomed  to  such  practices.  The  posses- 
sors were  by  no  means  disconcerted ;  but,  re-collect- 
ing their  prizes,  continued  the  dance. 

This  relation  of  'New  Holland  manners  may  by 
some  be  deemed  overwrought  and  extravagant ;  but, 
as  I  have  the  story  from  most  reliable  authority,  I 
can  vouch  for  its  correctness.  I  have  seen  the  par- 
ticipants, and  although,  as  I  before  said,  they  be- 
longed to  the  first  circles  and  affected  to  be  aristo- 
cratic, were  they  arrayed  in  jacket  and  trowsers, 
they  would  make  first-rate  man-of-war's  men. 

And  now  that  the  Abrolhas'  are  dropping  astern, 
we  will  contrast  the  present  state  of  our  feelings  with 
what  they  were  when  we  entered  this  channel,  -&.ve 
weeks  since.  Then  we  were  pregnant  with  hope: 
no  doubt  existing  in  our  minds  as  to  the  preconceived 
certainty  of  taking  several  hundred  barrels  of  oil  — 
the  only  damper  to  our  ardent  expectation  being  the 
forethought  of  our  toil  in  towing.  The  possibility 
of  there  being  no  whales  never  struck  us;  for  we 
had  from  various  testimonies  of  their  presence  put 
this  point  so  far  beyond  all  question,  that  if  any  one 
had  started  the  least  misgivings  he  would  have  been 
treated  with  derision.  At  that  time,  too,  we  firmly 
expected  to  leave  directly  for  home  on  quitting  the 
islands ;  having  only  to  make  a  short  stoppage  at  the 
Island  of  St.  Helena  for  water.  But  now  we  had 
before  us  the  unpleasant  prospect  of  another  cruise ; 
and  this  still  more  darkened  with  the  thought  of  our 
putting  into  ports,  where  the  little  we  had  due  to  us 
would  most  likely  be  foolishly  spent.     Instead  of  the 


REFLECTIONS   ON   OUR   MALADVENTURES.  289 

hundreds  of  barrels  of  oil  that  we  had  anticipated  to 
have  stawed  below,  we  had  two  hundred  barrels  of 
salt-water;  and  to  counterbalance  our  other  disap- 
pointments we  had  — just  nothing  at  all.  Yet,  had 
we  not  made  the  attempt,  none  of  us  would  have 
been  satisfied  ;  and  I  think  the  captain  perfectly  jus- 
tified, although  the  result  was  so  disastrous. 

But  there  is  no  use  in  repining :  for  this  was  only 
one  of  the  series  of  maladventures  we  experienced 
throughout  our  voyage.    The  season  in  the  Bight  and 
that  on  "New  Zealand  (on  both  of  which  we  had 
counted  largely)  returned  us  almost  nothing.     We 
had,  however,  solaced  ourselves  with  the  reflection 
that  the  Abrolhas'  season  was  yet  to  come ;  and,  al- 
though we  preferred  the  sperm  oil,  still  we  had  made 
up  our  minds  to  be  satisfied  with  a  cargo  of  that  of 
the  humpback,  which  we  were  assured  we  could  get 
without  trouble,  except  hard  work.    And  now,  when 
this  too  had  failed,  our  sheet-anchor  was  gone :  for, 
if  there  were  any  who  still  had  an  idea  of  making  a 
good  voyage,  they  were  hoping  against  hope.     For 
us,  certainly,  the  day  had  gone  by ;  unless,  indeed, 
when  we  returned,  the  market  for  oil  should  by  some 
strange  revulsion  have  become  so  much  exhausted 
as  to  cause  it  to  bring  an  almost  fabulous  price. 
Then,  and  then  only,  would  any  of  us  make  pin- 
money  enough  to   repay  us   for  more   than  three 
years  of  a  hard,  wearisome  life.     However,  as  I  said 
before,  there  is  no  use  in  repining.     We  must  grin 
and  bear  it,  and  at  the  same  time  admit  ourselves 
convinced  of  the  aptness  of  that  axiom  which  reads 
"Blessed  are  they  who  expect  nothing;  for  they  are 
sure  not  to  be  disappointed." 
25  T 


290  TO   GO,    OR   NOT   TO   GO,   HOME. 

And  now,  the  general  feeling  that  pervaded  the 
ship's  compan}^  was  a  wish  for  a  speedy  return  home : 
all  being  convinced  of  the  inutility  of  a  longer 
absence.  But  whether  the  captain  would  act  in 
accordance  with  it  remained  to  be  seen.  His  mind 
fluctuated,  with  the  tide  of  time,  between  these  two 
points:  to  go,  or  not  to  go.  This  was  the  question 
which  he  appeared  to  be  continually  debating  in  his 
own  mind.  One  moment,  "going  home"  was  in 
the  ascendant;  the  next,  all  his  sympathies  were 
enlisted  in  favor  of  staying  out  for  another  cruise : 
points  which  were  perhaps  ultimately  decided  to  our 
disadvantage. 


DEPARTURE  FOR  THE  WESTWARD.  291 


CHAPTER    XII.. 

After  leaving  the  Abrolhas',  we  had  a  strong 
westerly  breeze,  which  required  us  to  carry  sail 
pretty  stiffly,  to  avoid  the  shore ;  in  the  course  of 
which  process  we  sighted  the  Wollaby  group  and 
Wizzard's  Peak  on  the  main. 

Our  intention  was  to  cruise  here  for  four  or  six 
weeks ;  but  having,  after  the  lapse  of  eight  or  nine 
days,  seen  sperm  whales  which  were  going  eyes  out 
to  the  westward,  (we  lowered  for  them,  but  did  not 
get  within  miles  of  them,)  on  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 1st,  we  spoke  the  Europa,  sold  to  her  captain 
another  boat,  and,  with  strong  southeast  trades,  took 
up  our  line  of  departure  for  the  westward.  Our 
ship's  bottom,  from  long  exposure,  was  very  foul, 
and  we  tried  to  make  amends  for  her  dullness  by 
packing  her  spars  full  of  canvass :  main  royal,  topmast, 
lower  and  topgallant  studding  sails,  all  assisting  us 
on  our  westerly  course ;  and,  although  we  were  not 
bound  directly  home,  we  were  all  well  aware  that 
space  now  crossed  brought  us  thitherward,  and  would 
not  need  to  be  retraced  by  us.  Hence  we  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  the  passage  with  more  alacrity  than 
usual.  There  was,  besides,  this  other  consideration, 
that  we  were  bound  to  a  port  within  the  precincts  of 
civilization ;  which  is  always  a  matter  of  gratification 
to  sailors,  after  either  a  short  or  long  cruise. 


292  ADIEU   TO   THE   EUROPA. 

At  the  last  farewell  visit  from  the  Europa's  crew, 
we  were  commissioned  to  deliver  many  a  message, 
both  verbal  and  written,  to  near  and  dear  friends  of 
theirs  in  the  States  ;  and  they,  poor  fellows,  doomed 
as  they  are,  for  a  year  or  eighteen  months  more, 
cruising  off  Kew  Holland's  coast,  could  not  avoid 
announcing  their  wishes  to  be  aboard  wdth  us.  They, 
however,  bade  us  "  God  speed ;"  and  we  bade  adieu 
to  New  Holland  and  them  both  at  the  same  time, 
hoping  to  meet  the  latter  again  in  the  land  of  Wash- 
ington, amid  pleasanter  scenes  and  under  happier 
auspices  than  can  be  found  within  the  confines  of  an 
Indian  Ocean  w^haler's  timbers. 

After  bidding  adieu  to  the  Europa,  we  occupied 
ourselves  in  sending  aloft  studding  sails  on  the  fore 
and  main,  from  the  topgallant  yards  to  the  deck ;  the 
main  royal  was  bent,  a  mizzen  staysail  manufactured 
and  bent,  and  under  a  cloud  of  canvass,  impelled  by 
the  gentle  trade-wind,  w^e  kept  her  west-north-west, 
fully  anticipating  making  Mauritius  within  a  fort- 
night ;  but,  like  most  of  our  bright  anticipations,  this 
was  doomed  to  be  dashed — the  trade-winds,  most  un- 
usually at  this  season  of  the  year,  persisting  in  being 
light,  so  that  it  was  not  until  the  21st  that  we  saw 
the  Isle  of  France.  Previous  to  this,  on  the  19th, 
we  sighted  and  passed  close  by  the  Island  of  Eodrique. 
This  small  island  is  seldom  visited  by  whalers  for 
supplies,  as  there  is  no  accredited  American  agent 
resident  on  it.  It  however  is  made  famous  amongst 
the  whaling  fleet,  from  the  fact  of  a  captain  of  a  New 
Bedford  vessel  having  selected  a  lady  of  the  island, 
of  French  parentage,  as  his  lady  love,  marrying,  and 
taking  her  with  him  to  the  United  States,  to  the  dis- 


THE   ISLE   OF  FRANCE.  293 

may  of  the  fair  sex  in  liis  native  neighborhood,  who 
had  set  their  caps  for  him.  This  fact  is  so  well  known 
and  widely  spread,  that  I  never,  whilst  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  heard  the  name  of  the  island  mentioned, 
without  being  compelled,  from  politeness,  to  listen  to 
a  repetition  of  the  love  passage. 

The  following  day,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
we  sighted  a  school  of  sperm  whales,  consisting  of 
cows  and  calves.  After  several  hours  chasing,  we 
were  obliged  to  relinquish  the  pursuit  as  futile. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  23d  we  stood  close  in  to 
the  land  composing  the  Isle  of  France ;  it  is  rugged 
and  mountainous,  covered  by  immense  fields  of 
nature's  own  green,  which  we  judged  to  be  the 
different  plantations  of  coffee  and  sugar-cane,  for 
which  the  island  is  celebrated.  At  night  we  beat  to 
windward,  having  to  direct  us  the  beacons  of  two 
light-houses,  which  designate  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor.  Next  morning  we  stood  into  the  roadstead, 
which  is  easy  of  access,  but  only  presents  a  secure 
anchorage  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  being  en- 
tirely unprotected  from  the  winds.  At  lOJ  A.M. 
on  the  23d  we  let  go  our  anchor,  amid  some  twenty 
vessels,  most  of  which  fly  either  the  French  or  Eng- 
lish flag — these  two  nations  carrying  on  the  principal 
trade  to  and  from  the  port.  These  vessels  were  of 
the  most  ancient  models,  not  a  clipper  to  be  seen 
amongst  them  ;  all  betrayed  too  plainly  that  Yankee 
ingenuity  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  construction, 
but  that  their  models,  rig,  and  lumbering  appearance 
were  all  owing  to  some  clumsy  English  shipwright, 
or  French  bungler  in  the  same  line. 

The  town,  or  rather  that  part  of  it  which  can  be 
25* 


294  QUARANTINE. 

seen  from  the  roadstead,  presents  anything  but  a 
creditable  appearance ;  only  the  outskirts  can  be  seen, 
built  on  the  base  of  the  far-famed  and  world-re- 
nowned Peter  Boite  mountain,  which  rears  its  cone- 
shaped  summit  aloft  in  the  regions  of  upper  air. 
Midway  up  the  ascent  is  a  signal  station,  which 
informs  those  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
system  of  signals,  of  the  appearance  in  the  offing  of 
inward  bound  vessels;  and  when  these  are  near 
enough,  by  the  arrangement  of  Captain  Marryatt's 
signals,  consisting  of  four  small  flags,  or  rather  three 
flags  and  a  whip,  they  ascertain  the  name  of  the 
vessel,  whence  from,  her  cargo,  and  to  whom  con- 
signed. 

The  entrance  to  the  harbor,,  which,  by  the  way, 
appears  from  the  roadstead  tolerably  full  of  shipping, 
is  guarded  by  two  elevated  fortifications  and  a  mole  ; 
so  that,  from  the  number  of  fortifications,  I  should 
judge  that  the  harbor  was  pretty  secure  in  case  of 
assault. 

It  is  very  easy  to  remark  the  difference  between 
the  English  and  American  method  of  transacting 
harbor  business.  If  we  had  anchored  near  an  Ameri- 
can city,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  quarantine 
physician,  our  anchor  would  have  scarcely  left  the 
cat-head,  ere  he  would  have  boarded  us  and  been 
satisfied  as  to  our  general  healthiness ;  but  here,  from 
half-past  10  until  3  o'clock,  w^e  were  left  in  a  blessed 
state  of  uncertainty  as  to  whether  we  should  com- 
municate with  the  shore  or  remain  stationary ;  when 
the  dilatory  physician  boarded  us,  and,  after  marshal- 
ling the  crew  aft  and  satisfying  himself  as  to  our 
general  sanitary  condition,  gave  us  a  red  flag  to  fly 


HARBOR    LAWS   AND   SIGNALS.  295 

at  our  fore  royal  truck,  which  was  our  certificate  of 
health,  and  guaranteed  to  us  permission  to  transact 
business  with  the  city.  Those  vessels  that  are  con- 
demned by  the  port  physician  as  unfit  to  enter  into 
communication  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  island, 
are  removed  to  the  quarantine  ground,  about  a  mile 
below  our  anchorage,  where,  at  present,  some  dozen 
vessels  lie,  guarded  by  the  police  boat,  that  prevents 
any  interchange  of  goods  that  may  lead  to  the  intro- 
duction of  infection  into  the  port. 

The  port  officer,  who  accompanied  the  physician, 
left  with  us  a  small  book  containing  the  harbor  laws 
and  regulations,  for  the  government  of  vessels  of  all 
nations  which  anchor  within  its  precincts.  These  laws 
are  printed  both  in  French  and  English,  and  purport 
to  emanate  from  Sir  John  Higginson,  lieutenant- 
governor;  they  are  comprised  mostly  of  stringent 
quarantine  restrictions,  which  led  me  to  suppose  that 
at  some  earlier  period  they  had  suffered  severely  by 
the  importation  of  dreadful  contagious  diseases, 
which  I  can  easily  imagine  would  find  abundant  food 
amid  the  miscellaneous  population,  assisted  as  it 
naturally  would  be  by  the  extreme  heat  of  the 
climate. 

Beside  these,  there  are  a  series  of  signals  for  the 
preservation  of  vessels  in  the  roadstead  during  the 
months  which  are  most  liable  to  typhoons  or  hurri- 
canes. This  period  extends  from  the  1st  of  December 
to  the  1st  of  April ;  at  the  first  signal  the  captains 
of  all  vessels  lying  in  the  roadstead  are  compelled  by 
law  to  resort  to  their  respective  ships  ;  other  signals 
are  for  the  increase   of  ground- tackle,  shifting   of 


296  AN  AMUSING  INCIDENT. 

anchorage,  and,  finall}^,  getting  under  weigh,  when  a 
longer  stay  in  the  roadstead  would  prove  dangerous. 

At  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  heard  the  report 
of  the  evening  gun  which  enjoins  all  keepers  of  public 
houses,  and  other  places  of  business,  to  close  their 
doors ;  a  heavy  penalty  being  imposed  upon  any  per- 
son transacting  business  of  whatever  kind  after  gun 
lire.  At  5  o'clock  A.  M.  the  morning  gun  is  fired, 
when  all  are  at  liberty  to  open  their  doors,  and 
resume  their  respective  avocations. 

On  the  25th  we  thoroughly  washed  our  ship,  send- 
ing ashore  several  times  during  the  day.  When  the 
first  boat  came  off  with  provisions,  comprising  meat 
and  vegetables,  a  boy,  who  constituted  one  of  the 
crew,  was  exploding  with  suppressed  laughter,  which 
occasionally  would  escape  him  notwithstanding  his 
utmost  efforts.  On  being  questioned  as  to  the  cause 
of  his  mirth,  he  proceeded  in  a  very  naive  and 
humorous  vein  to  describe  his  trip  to  the  market  for 
meat.  After  selecting  what  was  wanted  for  the  ship's 
consumption,  a  Lascar  backed  it,  which  was  all  very 
well ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  started,  than  another  of 
the  same  race  jumped  up  from  his  squatting  posture, 
and,  by  a  series  of  thumps  and  rib  ticklings,  forced 
the  one  who  acted  as  pack-horse  into  quite  a  nimble 
pace  for  an  indolent  Asiatic.  The  thumps  and  rib 
ticklings,  which  seemed  a  grave  matter  of  busi- 
ness between  the  contracting  parties,  excited  the 
fancy  of  our  Yankee  boy,  who  had  never  seen  or 
heard  of  such  a  man-persuading  operation ;  hence 
his  violent  merriment. 

The  meat  which  we  procured  is  known  by  two 
sobriquets,  being  called  indifferently,  "  buffalo"  and 


CAPE   BEEF.  29T 

"cape  beef."  The  animals  are  procured  either  from 
the  Cape  Colony,  or  the  Island  of  Madagascar.  I 
saw  a  number  of  them  yoked  together,  performing 
the  heavy  draughting  to  and  from  the  plantations 
and  warehouses.  With  the  exception  of  the  hump, 
I  could  perceive  no  difference  in  form  between  them 
and  our  own  cattle.  This  hump  is  situated  on  the 
spine  directly  over  the  fore  shoulders ;  in  shape  it 
resembles  a  mound,  being  conical  as  it  approaches 
its  summit,  and  in  a  full  grown  animal  attains  a 
height  of  from  eight  to  twelve  inches.  The  flesh  of 
the  hump  is  said  to  be  esteemed  a  great  dainty,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  of  it  from  the  fact  that  whilst  lying 
here  not  a  particle  of  that  portion  of  the  animal  came 
aboard  our  ship,  it  commanding  a  higher  price  than 
the  other  portions,  and,  therefore,  was  too  expensive 
provender  for  sailors. 

I  have  heard  this  meat  reviled  over  and  over  again, 
as  being  tough  and  anything  but  nutritious ;  but  I 
disagree  with  its  detractors,  as  I  found  it  sweet, 
tender  and  palatable,  although  it  is  very  far  from 
being  fat. 

Besides  fresh  meat  we  were  enabled  to  obtain  sweet 
potatoes  —  the  murphies  not  being  raised  here  —  and 
so  we  were  fain  to  put  up  with  their  yellow  proto- 
t}^es;  they  were  much  the  same  esculent  as  we 
formerly  procured  in  the  Island  of  Lombock.  Car- 
rots, and  the  various  garden  vegetables,  too,  were 
procurable,  and  the  most  original  turnips  that  it  ever 
fell  to  my  lot  to  behold.  In  form  they  resembled 
a  pine-apple,  and  were  of  a  deep  purple  color. 
Attracted  by  their  savory  look,  I  essayed  to  peel  one 
with  my  pocket  knife,  but  found  such  a  proceeding 


298  TAKING   IN   WATER. 

not  to  be  accomplished  with  ordinary  tools  ;  with  the 
assistance  of  a  sharp  hatchet,  I  managed  to  remove 
the  jacket,  and  was  rewarded  for  my  pains  by  a 
mouthful  of  the  hardest  chewing  commodity  that 
ever  was  put  between  my  masticators ;  it  reminded 
me  of  the  occasion,  when  a  boy,  I  attempted  to  crack 
a  hickory  nut  between  m}^  teeth. 

On  Monday  morning  we  arose  with  the  intention 
of  doing  a  great  deal  of  work  —  thinking  to  get  oiF 
all  our  water  in  the  course  of  the  day.  In  pursuance 
of  this  resolution  two  boats  were  manned,  and  we 
went  ashore  with  a  raft  of  casks  in  tow,  passing  up 
the  inner  harbor.  (But  as  we  were  to  go  ashore  in 
a  few  hours  on  liberty,  and  would  then  have  more 
leisure  for  inspection,  we  omit  further  description 
until  then.)  There  were  several  hundred  ships  lying 
here,  independent  of  the  coasting-craft,  and  therefore 
on  arriving  at  the  watering-place,  which  consisted  of 
an  aqueduct  with  a  single  nozzle,  we  found  it  sur- 
rounded by  seamen  of  every  nation,  hose  in  hand, 
patiently  waiting  their  turns,  while  being  scorched 
by  the  burning  rays  of  a  tropical  sun.  Finding  that 
in  all  probability  the  greater  part  of  the  day  would 
be  consumed  ere  we  should  have  an  opportunity  to 
fill  our  casks,  the  starboard- watch  returned  to  the 
ship,  in  order  to  make  preparations  to  go  ashore  on 
liberty;  which. being  soon  completed,  a  boat  was 
manned,  and  away  we  went  for  a  day's  enjoyment 
after  eight  months  of  sea-life. 

On  our  way  in  we  passed  a  series  of  parti-colored 
buoys,  placed  so  as  clearly  to  define  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor.  About  two  miles  from  the  landins: 
there  is  a  curious  contrivance  of  wicker-work,  with  a 


SHIPPING   AT  THE   MAURITIUS.  299 

bell  in  it,  familiarly  known  as  the  Bell  Buoy ;  and 
a  little  further  in,  the  Powder  Boat,  into  which  all 
vessels  entering  the  harbor  are  compelled  to  deposit 
their  powder.  The  entrance  to  the  harbor  is  mode- 
rately w^ide,  but  still  no  vessels  enter  without  the  aid 
of  the  steam  tow-boat,  which  they  may  however  dis- 
pense with  on  leaving.  Every  vessel  in  the  harbor  is 
compelled  to  anchor  with  two  stream  and  two  bower 
anchors. 

And  now  we  were  amongst  the  shipping :  for  the 
most  part,  great,  lumbering,  unsightly  sugar-boxes. 
There,  the  aristocratic  title,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  pro- 
claimed the  Briton ;  the  Napoleon  was  undoubtedly 
Monsieur's  craft;  the  Esperanza,  the  Don's;  and 
Peter  of  Hamburg,  Mynheer's.  But  amid  them  all 
rose  the  lofty  tapering  spars  of  the  brigantine  Penney, 
of  New  York ;  and,  on  a  nearer  approach,  we  could 
examine  the  beautiful  lines  of  her  symmetrical  hull, 
giving  evidence  of  the  handicraft  of  a  Baltimore 
shipbuilder  —  and  such  was  her  class:  a  Baltimore 
clipper  of  the  handsomest  model.  To-day  she  flew^ 
our  glorious  ensign  (the  stars  and  stripes)  for  the  last 
time ;  having  been  sold  to  the  British  government, 
to  be  used  as  a  revenue-cruiser.  Her  purchasers,  a 
few  days  before  her  delivery  to  them,  having  assidu- 
ously substituted,  for  the  Eagle  on  her  stern,  the 
British  Lion,  desired  to  fly  that  ensign  at  her  mizzen 
peak;  but  the  crew  in  charge  of  her  (two  full-blooded 
Americans)  would  not  allow  them  to  do  so  whilst 
they  remained  on  board,  and  persisted  in  flying  the 
star-spangled  banner  until  the  last  day,  when  they 
left  the  vessel  just  before  it  was  hauled  down. 

Near  the  brigantine  lay  a  three-masted  schooner, 


300  CHAEACTERISTICS   OF  THE   POPULATION. 

also  a  creditable  specimen  of  American  naval  archi- 
tecture, and  which  was  likewise  sold  daring  our  stay 
in  the  port.  Several  other  Americans  came  in  :  one, 
the  Spitfire,  of  Boston,  last  from  Calcutta — in  distress, 
leaking  badly  —  a  noble  clipper-ship,  of  two  thousand 
tons ;  and  the  barque  Agnes,  of  and  from  ^ew  York, 
whence  she  had  been  seventy-six  days  on  her  pass- 
age —  also  a  handsome  clipper.  Besides  these,  seve- 
ral clippers  came  in  under  the  French  flag,  which,  on 
inquiry,  we  were  informed  had  also  been  built  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  It  was  a  matter  of  con- 
gratulation to  us,  so  far  from  home,  to  know  and 
feel  our  national  superiority  in  the  construction  of 
that  noblest  of  structures,  viz.,  a  clipper-ship,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  feel  the  proud  consciousness  that 
all  the  world  admitted  it. 

Just  above  the  harbor  there  is  a  dry  dock,  on 
which  quite  a  number  of  vessels  were  hauled  up  for 
repairs. 

Our  boat  now  glided  up  to  the  steps  of  the  land- 
ing, which  we  mounted,  and  once  more  trod  upon 
terra  firma.  From  the  diiFerent  languages  that  fell 
on  our  ears  we  were  at  a  loss  to  tell  what  countrj^- 
men  we  were  among.  First,  from  the  number  of 
turbans  and  white  robes,  with  the  faultlessly  regular 
oriental  features,  we  w^ere  induced  to  think  that  we 
had  landed  amid  an  Arabian  population ;  then,  the 
vast  number  of  gaudy  caps,  surmounting  shaven 
crowns,  caused  us  to  change  our  opinion,  and  ima- 
gine the  greater  portion  of  the  mass  before  us  derived 
from  farther  down  the  Malabar  coast;  but,  again, 
we  saw  the  barbaric  ornaments,  dusky  features,  and 
scanty  clothing  of  the  Madagascar  native,  followed 


VISIT   TO   TOMB    OF   PAUL   AND   VIRGINIA.  801 

by  the  various  Hindoo  tribes,  representatives  of  the 
other  East  India  colonies  belonging  to  Great  Britain  ; 
and  next  the  Chinese,  the  Malay,  the  Creole  (a  pro- 
duction of  the  amalgamation  of  some  one  of  these 
races  with  the  European) ;  then,  lastly,  there  were 
the  French  and  English,  intermingled  with  people 
from  every  civilized  country  of  the  globe  :  and  hence 
it  may  well  be  imagined,  from  these  incongruous 
features  of  the  populace,  that  the  commingling  of  all 
their  different  languages  must  produce  a  most  Babel- 
like confusion.  Then  the  donkeys,  too,  which  at  all 
times  of  day  are  about  the  docks  in  great  numbers, 
added  their  harmonious  voices  to  the  confused  din. 
At  the  moment  of  landing,  I  was  struck  with  the 
sparsity  of  the  white  population.  It  was  only  at  rare 
intervals,  as  I  penetrated  into  the  city,  that  an  Euro- 
pean face  could  be  seen ;  and  I  have  walked  for 
hours  in  utter  ignorance  of  my  whereabouts ;  for, 
although  I  frequently  inquired  of  whomsoever  I  met, 
I  was  unable  to  find  one  who  could  speak  English 
enough  to  direct  me. 

After  a  short  walk  through  the  macadamized 
streets,  feeling  that  I  was  utterly  out  of  my  element, 
(all  sailors,  who  have  been  a  long  cruise  at  sea,  are 
poor  walkers,)  and  inquiring  for  some  time  as  to  the 
direction  of  Paul  and  Virginia's  grave,  (the  hero  and 
heroine  of  the  beautiful  French  novel,  which  desig- 
nates this  island  as  Cypress,)  we  succeeded  in  finding 
an  English  chaise-driver,  who  soon  had  us  stowed 
away  in  his  vehicle,  and  bowding  along  over  a  good 
road  into  the  country.  Our  ride  extended  for  seven 
miles,  through  a  populous  and  fertile  country :  the 
inhabitants  being  of  the  same  class  as  in  the  city. 
26 


802      THE   TOMB  —  PETER   BOITE  —  THE    GARDENS. 

On  arriving  at  our  destination,  we  were  sadly  dis- 
appointed ;  as  we  had  formed  the  idea,  that  we 
should  see  a  stately  mausoleum  erected  over  the 
remains  of  two  such  renowned  characters.  A  dilapi- 
dated sandstone  monument,  enclosed  by  an  iron  rail- 
ing, was,  however,  the  only  memorial  by  w^hich  to  dis- 
tinguish their  last  resting-place.  On  this  monument 
there  had  once  been  a  tablet,  which  either  the  ruth- 
less hand  of  time,  or  the  eagerness  and  avidity  of 
curiosity-hunters,  had  rendered  illegible.  The  latter 
class  of  persons,  we  were  assured,  had  carried  the 
greater  part  of  it  away  piecemeal,  notwithstanding 
the  notice,  printed  in  French  and  English,  which 
forbids  trespass. 

Inquiring  from  our  chaperon  for  the  other  ^'lions'* 
of  the  port,  we  were  shown  the  Peter  Boite  Moun- 
tain, and  were  assured  that  a  view  from  its  lofty 
summit  was  w^ell  worth  the  trouble  of  ascending ; 
but,  unaccustomed  as  we  were  to  the  seething  heat 
of  the  sun  ashore,  we  were  not  at  all  anxious  to 
attempt  such  a  task. 

Close  by  the  tomb  there  are  beautiful  botanical 
gardens,  a  visit  to  which  disclosed  to  us  the  beauties 
of  tropical  vegetation.  Here  the  pine-apple,  bananas, 
clove,  nutmeg,  allspice,  coffee,  and  other  plants, 
bloomed  in  luxurious  profusion.  There  were,  too,  many 
of  the  products  of  the  temperate  climes :  presenting 
to  an  American's  eyes  the  aspect  of  a  great  hot-house. 
The  walks  and  drives  through  these  splendidly  ar- 
ranged grounds  are  of  the  most  beautiful  descrip- 
tion. 

Having  satiated  our  appetites  for  seeing  and  tasting, 
we  retraced  our  way  to  the  city;  and  I  sat  down 


THE  CITY —  ITS  WAREHOUSES  AND  MARKETS.      803 

in  the  coziest  corner  I  conld  find,  to  make  some  ob- 
servations on  the  general  aspect  of  the  city,  and  char- 
acter of  the  inhabitants. 

The  part  of  the  city  adjoining  the  wharves  is  laid 
out  with  little  attention  to  regularity  —  the  streets 
describing  most  tortuous  courses.  At  the  outskirts 
the  avenues  are  at  right  angles,  and  that  part  of  the 
city  presents  a  better  appearance.  All  the  streets  are 
macadamized ;  but  few  of  them  are  named,  or  rather 
they  have  no  names  at  the  corners  to  direct  the 
stranger.  I  remember  seeing  but  a  single  signboard, 
and  that  was  in  French,  having  on  it  Rue  de  Rivoli. 
On  the  other  avenues  the  signboards  only  displayed 
the  number  and  the  first  and  last  letters  of  the 
name. 

The  tenements  and  business-places  are  generally 
two  stories  in  height,  and  built  of  stone,  bricks,  or 
wood.  On  the  wharves  are  iron-framed  warehouses, 
built  in  the  most  substantial  manner,  so  as  to  with- 
stand the  violence  of  the  typhoon.  They  are  not 
enclosed,  but  resemble  our  market-sheds.  The  mar- 
ket-house, situated  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  is  built 
in  the  same  manner,  and  divided  into  four  depart- 
ments, one  of  which  is  the  meat-market,  where  I  saw 
nothing  but  beef  and  fish  exposed  for  sale ;  the  latter 
not  of  the  description  admitted  to  our  tables,  as  on 
the  shambles  of  one  victualler  I  saw  two  monstrous 
sharks,  from  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  in  length,  which 
he  was  cutting  up,  and  selling  to  the  dusky  portion 
of  the  inhabitants.  Another  department  is  devoted 
to  the  coffee- venders,  where  any  person  can  get  a 
cup  of  excellent  hot  coffee  for  a  penny ;  and  to  judge 
from  the  number  of  their  customers,  these  petty  mer- 


304  A   MISERABLE   BUSINESS-PRACTICE. 

chants  are  driving  a  lucrative  business.  The  third 
department  is  occupied  by  the  sellers  of  vegetables, 
birds,  &c.  The  fourth,  known  as  the  bazaar,  is  ap- 
portioned into  stalls,  each  under  the  supervision  of  a 
brown  clerk,  who  uses  his  utmost  endeavors  to  attract 
customers.  These  stalls  are  furnished  with  fancy 
articles,  perfumery,  cutlery,  hosiery,  cambrics,  and  a 
variety  of  Eastern  articles  quite  unknown  on  our 
shores.  Each  of  the  merchants  is  adorned  by  a 
streak  of  India  ink,  running  from  the  center  of  the 
scalp-lock  to  the  bridge  of  the  nose,  which  is  said  to 
be  a  mark  of  distinguished  caste  —  the  wearers  of  it 
being  known  as  Parsees.  They  display  considerable 
acumen  in  conducting  business,  and  offer  induce- 
ments to  purchasers  scarcely  inferior  to  those  pre- 
sented by  salesmen  in  our  clothing  establishments 
on  Market  street.  One  miserable  practice  prevails, 
which  is  general  amongst  all  classes  of  merchants 
throughout  the  city ;  that  is,  the  abominable  custom 
of  asking  three  prices  for  an  article,  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  being  beat  down  to  a  reasonable  one :  doc- 
tors, lawyers,  merchants  (wholesale  and  retail),  drug- 
gists, and  other  dealers,  all  persisting  in  it.  I  had 
occasion  to  go  to  a  first-class  drug-store  to  purchase 
some  articles  for  the  ship's  medicine-chest.  Here  I 
confidently  expected  to  see  a  rational  method  of 
doing  business;  but,  to  my  utter  surprise,  I  was 
asked  twenty-one  dollars  for  a  package  that  I  could 
purchase  at  home  for  five.  After  considerable  chaf- 
fering, I  succeeded  in  obtaining  it  for  twelve  dollars. 
Under  this  phase  of  bargaining,  it  was  a  matter  of 
time  to  make  the  most  trifling  purchase ;  and,  when- 
ever at  a  loss  for  occupation,  it  was  customary  with 


BILL   AND    RECEIPT  —  GOVERNOR'S   HOUSE.         305 

US  to  resort  to  the  bazaar,  and  inquire  for  an  article 
which  they,  from  their  inadequate  knowledge  of 
English,  could  not  comprehend,  and  then  watch  their 
anxiety  in  displaying  ever}^  article  they  had  for  sale, 
in  hopes  of  hitting  upon  the  right  one.  l^o  sooner 
had  you  been  given  up  in  despair  by  the  occupant 
of  one  stall  than  you  were  seized  on  by  his  neighbor; 
and  if,  attracted  by  the  quaintness  of  any  particular 
article,  you  should  make  a  purchase,  however  small, 
your  former  attendant  would  show  his  chagrin  in  a 
garrulous  and  amusing  manner. 

One  day  whilst  thus  perambulating  in  Yankee 
fashion,  with  our  hands  deep  in  our  pockets,  as  a 
protection  from  the  wonderful  sleight-of-hand  pos- 
sessed by  this  people,  one  of  these  merchants,  at- 
tracted by  a  whalebone  stick  our  steward  carried, 
oftered  a  pound  sterling  for  it.  The  steward  agreed 
to  take  it,  but  then  the  native  would  not  purchase, 
without  a  bill  and  receipt.  Being  penman  and 
amanuensis  for  all  hands,  I  was  desired  to  make  out 
the  necessary  document.  After  writing  it,  I  was 
requested  by  the  steward  to  sign  his  name ;  but  it 
was  no  go.  The  native,  albeit  he  could  not  read  a 
single  word  of  English,  knew  that  this  was  not  the 
proper  mode  of  doing  business,  and  obliged  the 
steward  to  sign  his  name  himself;  when,  after  call- 
ing an  English  policeman,  and  submitting  it  to  his 
inspection,  he  was  satisfied  of  its  validity,  and  paid 
down  the  dust. 

The  Governor's  House  has  no  pretensions  to  beauty. 

It  looks  like  an  old-fashioned  farmer's  homestead, 

and  no  one  would  think  it  had  a  claim  to  aristocracy, 

were   it  not  for  the   presence    of   the    red-coated 

26*  u 


806  THE   MILITARY   AND   CIVIL  HOSPITALS. 

sentry,  who  continually  paces  in  front  of  it.  The 
only  building  which  I  saw  that  presented  any  real 
pretension  to  beauty  was  a  mosque,  built  in  the 
Egyptian  style,  with  mimic  towers.  Strangers  were 
not  admitted  within  it  on  the  days  when  I  was 
ashore ;  so  I  had  to  be  satisfied  with  a  glance,  that 
revealed  to  me  the  handsome  decorations  of  a  very 
small  part  of  it,  and  a  massive  chandelier,  pendant 
from  the  dome  which  formed  the  roof. 

The  Hospital  is  a  large,  commodious,  well-venti- 
lated building,  surrounded  by  verandas,  healthily 
situated,  and  close  by  the  water's  side.  It  comprises 
three  separate  departments.  One  building  is  devoted 
to  the  military,  and  is  known  as  the  Military  Hos- 
pital. A  second  building  is  known  as  the  Civil 
Hospital,  where  the  citizens  are  admitted  at  a  charge 
of  a  shilling,  and  seamen  of  other  nations  at  two 
shillings,  per  diem.  The  ground-floor  of  this  build- 
ing is  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  black  Asiatic  popu- 
lation—  French,  English,  and  American  negroes  be- 
ing admitted  to  the  same  apartment  as  the  whites. 
At  the  time  we  were  there  the  dysentery  was  so 
prevalent  amongst  the  Asiatics,  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  extend  their  apartments,  and  for  this 
purpose  a  part  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  building 
was  devoted  to  their  use. 

Having  sent  two  of  our  men  to  this  hospital  for 
treatment  for  stricture  of  the  urethra,  I  visited  it,  and 
found  it  clean,  orderly,  and  well  conducted.  The 
resident  and  visiting  physicians  are  all  Englishmen, 
and,  from  their  mode  of  operation,  I  should  judge 
them  to  be  scientific  and  skilful  surgeons.  The 
Malabars  are  attended  to  by  Creole  physicians,  who 


TWO    OF   OUR   CREW   LEFT   IN   THE   HOSPITAL.        307 

have  received  thorough  medical  educations;  two- 
thirds  of  the  patients  were  under  treatment  for 
dysentery,  which,  from  the  symptoms  and  treatment, 
I  am  certain  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  Asiatic 
cholera;  the  remaining  varieties  are  mostly  venereal 
aifections,  which,  in  this  hot  climate,  assume  their 
most  violent  and  disgusting  forms. 

There  are  a  number  of  Americans  here;  some 
resident  ashore,  and  others  from  the  American  vessels 
in  the  harbor ;  those  from  the  vessels  being  discharged 
sick  on  the  consul's  hands,  who  provides  for  them  at 
the  hospital  until  recovered;  he  then  finds  them 
ships  and  sends  them  to  the  United  States. 

Neither  of  the  men  who  were  sent  from  our  ship 
to  the  hospital  recovered  so  as  to  be  able  to  go  out 
with  us.  One  of  them,  a  New  Yorker,  the  former 
steward  of  the  Europa,  anticipates  remaining  on  the 
island  some  time ;  the  other,  John  Cunningham,  of 
New  Bedford,  one  of  our  original  crew,  is  left  in 
charge  of  the  consul,  to  be  sent  home  as  soon  as  the 
state  of  his  health  will  permit.  Our  captain  was  very- 
desirous  to  take  this  young  man  home  with  him  for 
the  sake  of  his  widowed  mother;  but  as  the  invalid 
objected  to  going  before  he  was  perfectly  recovered, 
and  the  doctor's  authority  was  paramount  to  the  cap- 
tain's, we  were  forced  to  leave  him  in  a  foreign  land, 
in  a  foreign  hospital,  amongst  strangers,  to  look  out 
for  himself,  with  the  assistance  of  the  consul :  a 
fearful  responsibility  for  a  boy  of  eighteen,  unac- 
quainted with  the  world. 

There  is  also  another  institution  for  the  reception 
and  relief  of  destitute  seamen,  known  as  the  Sailor's 
Home :  its  accommodations  are  said  to  be  excellent. 


308  PUBLIC   PARK. 

At  this  house  were  part  of  the  crew  of  the  whale- 
ship  IN'auticon,  of  ISTantucket,  which  ship  was  lost  a 
few  months  previous  at,  or  near,  the  Seychelle  Islands. 
All  seamen's  boarding-houses  in  Port  Louis  are 
bound  by  law  to  afford  a  seaman  two  weeks'  board, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  time  they  can  expel  him 
from  the  house,  if  they  feel  so  inclined;  but  it  gene- 
rally happens  that  they  ship  before  the  fortnight 
expires,  and  pay  their  board  with  part  of  the  advance 
money  they  receive  from  their  new  employers.  The 
usual  charge  for  board  is  a  guinea  a  week. 

Connected  with  the  Home  is  a  floating  bethel, 
moored  close  by  the  landing  stair. 

Another  feature  of  the  city  is  the  park.  Some  of 
our  boys  from  the  rural  districts  having  visited  it, 
and  found  several  fountains  on  its  grounds,  gave  so 
animated  a  description  of  its  beauties  as  made  me 
eager  to  visit  it.  I  went,  saw,  and  was  neither  over- 
whelmed by  astonishment  nor  pleasure ;  the  walks 
were  well  enough,  so  were  the  fountains,  but  the 
trees  appeared  uncared  for ;  and  the  grass,  what  little 
there  was,  was  parched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  to  a 
straw  color.  This  park  was  about  two  hundred  feet 
in  width,  and  several  hundred  yards  in  length.  The 
peculiar  attraction  of  this  place  is  that  it  is  the  resort 
of  the  children  of  the  European  residents,  and  from 
their  presence  one  argues  the  existence  of  white 
women  in  the  neighborhood  ;  but  where  they  seclude 
themselves  I  cannot  perceive,  for  if  the  very  small 
number  of  white  ladies  whom  I  saw  in  Mauritius 
were  the  maternal  relatives  of  all  the  children  I  saw 
in  the  park,  verily  the  climate  of  Port  Louis  must 
conduce  greatly  to  the  fecundity  of  our  race. 


A   OEMETEllY.  309 

Occasionally,  in  the  park,  may  be  seen  a  Miss  who 
has  discarded  pantalettes,  and,  when  seen,  her  rosy 
cheeks  and  white  transparent  skin  contrast  so  favor- 
ably with  the  universal  yellow  and  brown  hues  of 
the  East  Indian  dames,  that  one  could  almost  and 
without  any  great  expansion  of  the  imagination, 
think  her  an  angel  from  the  ethereal  regions  sent  to 
illuminate  the  dusky  scene. 

A  few  miles  from  the  landing  is  a  cemetery,  which 
I  visited.  The  road  to  it  embraces  a  beautiful  walk 
or  drive  through  a  long  shaded  avenue  formed  by 
rows  of  cypress  trees;  the  cemetery  is  laid  out  in 
the  form  of  a  square,  and  is  w^ell  filled  with  monu- 
ments, the  styles  and  workmanship  of  w^hich  would 
do  no  discredit  to  Laurel  Hill  or  Greenwood.  Most 
of  them  bore  inscriptions  in  French,  several  were 
devoted  to  the  last  remains  of  English  naval  com- 
manders who  had  died  whilst  on  this  station.  Over 
the  remains  of  one  of  these,  a  comparatively  young 
man,  was  erected  the  base  of  a  column,  a  few  feet 
above  which  the  column  was  fractured,  signifying 
that  the  deceased  was  cut  down  by  the  fell  destroyer 
in  the  spring  tide  of  life,  and  ere  he  had  arrived 
at  the  goal  to  w^hich  his  talents  would  have  con- 
ducted him. 

One  beautiful  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  departed 
prevails — on  each  tomb  is  a  vase  containing  flowers, 
which,  from  their  fragrance  and  freshness,  were  ap- 
parently renewed  by  no  niggard  hand.  This  beautiful 
custom  reminded  me  of  the  oft-repeated  wish  of  the 
old  man  in  the  best  of  Dickens'  Christmas  Stories, 
*'  Lord,  keep  my  memory  green."  On  my  way  back 
from  the  cemetery,  I  came  in  contact  with  a  crowd 


310  FUNERAL  HARANGUE. 

of  Malabars,  whom  an  old  woman  was  haranguing 
from  a  rostrum  consisting  of  a  large  stone,  in  the 
most  approved  manner  of  stump  speaking.  She  was 
in  a  state  of  semi-intoxication,  yet  her  auditory 
yielded  her  implicit  attention.  Not  understanding  a 
single  word  that  she  uttered,  and  being  unable  to 
obtain  an  explanation  of  the  scene,  I  was  on  the 
point  of  withdrawing,  when  her  change  of  manner, 
from  a  state  of  ecstacy  to  that  of  frantic  despair,  led 
me  to  approach  the  house  to  which  she  was  continu- 
ally pointing  during  her  oratorical  effort.  In  the 
house  I  saw  a  rude  pine  coffin,  around  which  the 
relatives  and  friends  were  collected,  all  half-drunk 
and  pugilistically  inclined,  arguing  some  point  with 
much  vehemence.  Disgusted  with  the  affair  I  with- 
drew, thinking  I  had  witnessed  as  serio-comic  a 
scene  as  the  wake  of  Teddy  the  Tiler. 

In  my  walk  up  to  the  residence  of  the  American 
consul,  I  saw  the  barracks  of  the  soldiery,  and  heard 
the  performance  of  their  excellent  brass  band.  The 
consul's  residence  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  landing.  It,  with  the  other  buildings  in  its  neigh- 
borhood, are  built  in  cottage  style,  and  present  the 
best  appearance  of  any  in  the  port.  The  consul  is  a 
JSTew  Yorker  named  Fairfield. 

The  few  white  inhabitants  engaged  in  business  are 
mostly  in  the  wholesale  branches  of  trade;  the  other 
positions  which  the  whites  fill  are  the  police  bodies, 
and  the  plying  of  boats  to  and  from  the  wharves  and 
shipping.  This  police  body  is  the  richest  farce,  in 
regard  to  the  preservation  of  law  and  order,  that  ever 
was  endorsed  by  the  city  fathers  of  any  municipality 


THE   POLICE.  311 

under  the  sun.  The  force  consists  of  two  bodies  — 
the  Government  and  municipal  police  —  the  former 
body,  or  at  least  that  part  of  it  on  duty  in  Port 
Louis,  contains  three  hundred  men,  two-thirds  of 
them  being  whites ;  this  proportion  is  made  up 
entirely  of  seamen,  French,  English,  American,  and 
German  —  the  Government,  eager  to  have  a  white 
police  force,  accepts  all  who  offer  to  enlist  for  a  term 
of  from  one  to  three  years,  providing  they  possess  a 
certified  discharge  from  the  vessels  in  which  they 
have  last  served. 

It  may  be  better  imagined  than  described  how  a 
body  of  men,  composed  of  such  reckless  material, 
would  conduct  themselves ;  they  create  more  disturb- 
ance by  far  than  those  under  their  surveillance ;  and 
it  is  not  unusual  for  them,  at  the  close  of  the  month, 
to  be  mulcted  in  the  greater  part  of  their  wages — re- 
tained by  the  authorities  as  fines  for  disorderly  con- 
duct. 

They  receive  four  pounds  sterling  per  month,  and 
live  in  barracks  resembling  those  of  the  soldiery; 
those  who  are  married  are  allowed  to  live  where 
they  please.  Their  uniform  is  duck  trowsers,  a  jacket 
of  blue  cloth  reaching  to  the  hips,  and  closing  tightly 
with  brass  buttons,  each  displaying  the  crown,  and  a 
blue  cap,  the  top  of  w4iich  is  of  white  glazed  oil 
skin  — this  cap  is  also  surmounted  with  a  crown ;  in 
the  hand,  dsiy  and  night,  is  carried  a  baton,  beauti- 
fully ornamented  with  Chinese  characters. 

We  were  much  surprised  to  find  in  the  police 
force  a  number  of  Americans  who  had  deserted  from 
whalers,  and  whom  we  had  seen  before  in  the  eastern 
ports   of  the   Indian   Ocean ;   amongst  these  were 


312  THE   POLICE. 

several  of  the  Elisha  Dunbar's  crew.  One  of  them,  a 
Bostonian,  had  been  promoted  to  be  sergeant,  and 
was  living  with  a  great,  greasy,  disgnsting-looking 
squaw,  as  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  thereby  carry- 
ing out  the  doctrine  of  amalgamation  to  its  fullest 
extent. 

None  of  the  members  of  either  of  these  bodies  are 
allowed  to  go  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  city  without 
a  pass  —  the  authorities  being  extremely  fearful  of 
desertion ;  and  with  reason,  too,  as,  although  these 
men  are  induced  to  enter  by  the  prospect  of  easy 
times,  (and  they  are  easy,  indeed,  duty  only  being 
required  of  them  for  four  hours  out  of  the  twenty- 
four,  after  which  time  they  are  at  liberty  to  dress 
and  act  as  citizens,  only  they  are  not  permitted  to 
engage  in  any  other  business,)  yet  their  very  inactivity 
disgusts  them  with  their  billets.  Men,  like  sailors? 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  a  stirring,  active  life, 
ever  on  the  alert  to  anticipate  the  storm  king's 
movements,  cannot  at  once  divest  themselves  of 
their  sea-going  habits ;  hence  their  uneasiness  and 
determination  to  desert.  When  we  left  Mauritius, 
two  of  them,  who  had  been  part  of  the  force  for 
several  months,  were  snugly  stowed  away  aboard  our 
ship,  preferring  life  in  a  whaler's  forecastle,  to  ease 
and  comfort  ashore. 

The  boatmen  comprise  two  distinct  classes:  the 
white  and  the  native.  The  whites  are  generally  sea- 
men, and  in  this  avocation  I  saw  manual  labor  per- 
formed by  them  only.  The  principal  and  most  busi- 
ness-like of  these  aquatic  carriers  was  a  man  who  had 
fled  the  city  of  INTew  Bedford  for  no  less  a  crime  than 
manslaughter,  and  thereby  escaped  punishment  by 


THE  ARABS  —  CHINESE  —  MALAYS.  313 

the  laws  of  his  country ;  but  being  now  doomed  to 
perpetual  exile  from  home  and  kindred,  he  could 
feelingly  say,  "  Verily,  the  way  of  the  transgressor 
is  hard !" 

And  now  that  we  have  pretty  thoroughly  analyzed 
the  city  and  its  suburbs,  it  is  quite  time  that  we 
should  speak  of  the  tawn}^  inhabitants  of  Port  Louis. 
Having  mentioned  the  whites,  we  will  first  glance 
at  those  who  most  nearly  resemble  them  in  color 
and  form :  the  Arabs  —  a  fine-looking,  large  and 
symmetrically  built  race  of  men,  who  wear  the  tur- 
ban, a  white  robe,  and  sandals,  of  the  same  form  as 
did  their  ancestors  in  time  immemorial.  They  are 
a  very  intelligent-looking  people,  with  perfectly  re- 
gular features,  grave  in  deportment,  respected,  and 
reputed  wealthy.     Most  of  them  are  merchants. 

The  next  class  we  will  notice  is,  the  Chinese. 
These,  without  being  in  great  numbers,  wield  con- 
siderable influence.  Their  strict  attention  to  busi- 
ness, and  speedy  method  of  amassing  money,  by 
sobriety  and  regularity  in  living,  soon  render  them 
independent  through  their  own  exertions.  They  are 
mostly  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  diy-goods  busi- 
nesses. They  adhere,  to  their  native  costume,  sport- 
ing their  pigtails,  wide  trowsers,  conical  hats,  and 
satin  slippers,  alongside  the  turban  and  sandals  of 
the  Arab. 

Next  comes  the  Malay,  with  his  dusky  features. 
They  are  few  in  number,  and  partake  in  some  degree 
of  the  peculiarities  of  both  the  former  nations.  Like 
the  Arabs,  they  are  strict  Mahometans,  turning  their 
faces  towards  Mecca  whilst  at  their  devotions.  These 
2T 


314   THE  MALABARS  —  THEIR  WAY  OF  WORKING. 

people  are  employed  both  in  humble  avocations  and 
in  the  higher  walks  of  life. 

[N'ext,  we  notice  the  people  known  as  Malabars. 
Under  this  patronymic,  not  only  the  natives  of  the 
Malabar  coast,  but  those  from  the  shores  of  the  Bay 
of  Bengal,  are  known ;  and  consequently,  coming 
from  so  extended  a  line  of  country,  there  is  a  vast 
difference  in  their  appearance :  those  from  one  part 
of  the  country  being  small  in  person,  with  scarcely 
any  muscular  strength ;  whilst  those  from  the  Ghaut 
mountains  are  a  tall,  muscular  race,  capable,  for 
Asiatics,  of  great  bodily  exertion.  All  are  subdued, 
and  appeared  to  me  as  the  most  abject  of  any  servile 
people.  They  are,  emphatically,  "hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water."  Few  of  them  are  employed 
in  trade,  except  as  segar  makers  and  sellers.  All 
the  manual  labor  peculiar  to  shipping  is  performed 
by  them  —  caulking,  loading,  and  discharging ;  and 
the  way  they  work  is  a  source  of  pain  to  an  enter- 
jjrising  spirit.  For  instance,  four  or  six  of  them  will 
arrange  themselves  around  a  bag  of  guano,  or  other 
package  of  merchandise,  and  at  a  signal  from  their 
overseer  (who  wields  a  bamboo,  with  which  he  very 
often  administers  heartj^  thwacks  on  the  heads  of  his 
employees;  and,  as  they  are  closely  shaven,  their 
crowns  possess  no  protection  from  the  blows),  com- 
mence a  monotonous  melody,  which  they  continue 
for  several  minutes,  before  touching  the  bag;  then, 
as  many  seizing  it  as  can  get  hold,  they  swing  it 
on  the  cart  or  scales  arranged  for  its  reception: 
during  which  operation  they  consume  more  time  in 
handling  one  bag  than  one-third  their  number  of 


STOXE-CUTTINQ,  COOPERINa,  BARBERIZING,  AC.     315 

our  men  would  do  in  disposing  of  a  dozen  bags  on 
the  wharves  at  home. 

Besides  this,  they  are  the  barbers,  coopers,  and 
stone-cutters  of  the  port.  I  saw  boys,  of  ten  years 
and  upwards,  and  possessing  the  most  efieminate 
bodies,  with  mallet  and  chisel,  working  away  at  the 
last-named  business  like  good  fellows. 

In  coopering  they  pursue  a  novel  mode  of  opera- 
tion: one  getting  on  top  of  the  cask  and  holding  the 
driver  on  the  hoops,  whilst  the  other  uses  the  ham- 
mer. This  is  done,  of  course,  after  the  head  has  been 
adjusted ;  previously  to  which  the  helper  stands  in 
the  center,  and  arranges  the  staves. 

Barberizing,  from  the  universal  practice  of  shaving 
the  head,  seems  to  be  a  thriving  trade.  The  person 
undergoing  the  operation  squats  cross-legged,  whilst 
the  barber  works  around  him,  removing  his  hair  in 
a  very  short  time.  I  think  this  a  most  excellent 
custom  in  this  hot  climate,  so  conducive  to  the  fos»- 
tering  and  increase  of  vermin. 

From  this  class  servants  are  selected,  who  perform 
all  the  various  functions  of  waiters,  footmen,  run- 
ners, &c.  There  are  few  women  and  children  im- 
ported, in  comparison  with  the  number  of  adult 
males :  possibly,  owing  to  the  greater  usefulness  of 
the  latter.  Their  costume  varies — some  wearing  the 
turban ;  but  generally  a  plush  cap  is  worn,  orna- 
mented with  gilded  or  silvered  braid,  arranged  in 
fanciful  forms.  All  wear  the  breech-cloth — the  upper 
and  lower  portions  of  the  body  remaining  bare. 
They  live  any  and  everywhere  —  the  ground-floors 
of  the  dwellings  throughout  the  city  being  crowded 
with  them;  and  ten  or  a  dozen  will  occupy  one 


316  THE   CREOLES  —  THEIR   RESPECTABILITY. 

apartment,  with  scarcely  moving  or  breathing  room — 
sleeping  on  the  bosom  of  mother  earth,  and  covered 
only  with  their  breech-cloth,  which  is  of  the  lightest 
texture.  They  receive  very  trifling  wages ;  but  as 
they  live  principally  upon  rice  and  curry,  which  cost 
scarcely  anything,  they  are  able  in  the  course  of  their 
apprenticeship  to  save  what  is,  to  them,  a  considerable 
sum  of  money. 

These  people  are  anything  but  temperate  as  re- 
gards the  consumption  of  ardent  spirits ;  but  I  never 
saw  one  of  them  display  the  slightest  approach  to 
intoxication.  Their  favorite  beverage  is  the  fiery 
arrack,  (distilled  from  rice,)  which  they  buy  for  a 
trifle,  and  consume  in  large  quantities. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  most  influential,  wealthy, 
and  thrifty  people  in  the  port.  I  refer  to  the  Cre- 
oles, the  issue  of  a  union  of  some  one  of  the  white 
races  with  the  East  Indian.  They  are  mostly  French, 
and  nine-tenths  of  the  mercantile  business  is  con- 
ducted by  them.  Their  distinguishing  traits  are  — 
industry,  neatness,  and  exact  business  qualifications. 
They  are  also  enterprising,  and  possess  all  the  polite- 
ness and  suavity  of  Monsieur  himself.  It  is  not  at 
all  unusual,  on  going  into  their  business-places,  to 
be  waited  upon  by  a  bevy  of  safiron-colored  clerks, 
whilst  at  one  side  sits  the  maternal  relative,  dressed 
in  the  handsomest  manner,  but  with  a  skin  as  black 
as  ebony.  The  Creoles  treat  these  relatives,  not- 
withstanding the  difference  of  color,  with  a  degree 
of  filial  affection  pleasing  to  witness. 

These  Creoles,  on  account  of  their  wealth,  and 
character  as  substantial  men  and  good  citizens,  are 
much  respected,  even  more  so  than  the  white  resi- 


A   FUXERAL    PROCESSION.  317 

dents,  and  are  freely  admitted  to  all  the  privileges 
and  immunities  possessed  by  the  latter. 

In  speaking  of  the  Malabars,  I  omitted  to  describe 
a  funeral  procession  in  which  they  were  the  par- 
ticipants. The  corpse  was  borne  in  a  coffin,  on  a 
hurdle,  supported  on  the  shoulders  of  six  men.  Pre- 
ceding the  coffin  was  a  musician  with  a  horn  in  the 
shape  of  the  letter  S,  from  which  the  operator  pro- 
duced more  noise  than  music ;  next  came  two  drum- 
mers with  their  instruments,  and  then  two  tambourine 
players  —  all  uniting  in  making  as  much  din  as  pos- 
sible. Those  in  the  procession  not  engaged  in 
discoursing  the  melody,  were  dancing  and  shouting. 
This  manner  of  testifying  grief  seemed  rather  odd, 
and  diametrically  opposite  to  all  my  preconceived 
notions  of  these  people,  as  I  had  judged  them  to  be 
incapable  of  any  joyous  demonstration  ;  but  it  seems 
they  can  act  a  farce,  although  they  choose  a  rather 
sombre  occasion  to  indulge  it.  I  have  not,  however, 
done  with  the  funeral,  not  having  as  yet  mentioned  its 
most  peculiar  feature.  Over  the  coffin  was  erected 
a  bower  of  twigs  and  green  plants,  intended  to 
represent,  as  nearly  as  possible,  a  temple.  I  followed 
the  procession  to  the  cemetery,  which  is  an  unenclosed 
piece  of  ground,  situated  just  outside  the  European 
cemetery,  and  unmarked  by  a  single  headstone. 
Just  previous  to  arriving  at  the  cemetery,  the  police- 
men, who  accompany  all  such  funerals,  obliged  them 
to  desist  from  their  merry^-making.  At  the  grave, 
which  was  not  more  than  four  feet  in  depth,  the 
bower  was  opened,  and  a  young  chicken  taken  from 
it,  which  a  near  relative  placed  in  his  bosom  very  care- 
fully. This  form,  I  suppose,  has  something  to  do 
27* 


318  APPRENTICE   SYSTEM. 

with  the  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  — 
these  foolish  people  imagining  that  the  spirit  of  the 
deceased  is  obliged,  after  death,  to  take  refuge  in 
the  body  of  some  animal ;  and  the  chicken  is  carried 
thus,  so  that  the  spirit  of  the  defunct  may  easily  find 
a  tenement.  All  this  seems  to  us  supremely  ridicu- 
lous; but,  on  the  other  hand,  these  people  are  just  as 
much  amused  at  our  forms  of  worship  as  we  are  at 
the  unreasonableness  of  theirs  —  education  and  the 
early  instillation  of  traditionary  or  other  precepts, 
making  a  believer  of  any  race  in  the  doctrine  of 
their  forefathers. 

And  now  the  question  arises,  how  these  Malabar 
and  Madagascar  natives  came  here  in  such  numbers. 
Fortunately,  it  is  very  easily  solved.  Their  presence 
is  the  natural  fruit  of  the  French  and  English  ap- 
prentice system  —  a  mode  of  procedure  as  much 
blacker  and  more  disgraceful  to  the  nation  engaged 
in  it,  than  the  slavery  of  our  Southern  States,  in- 
herited from  these  same  nations,  as  the  pirate's 
bloody  pursuit  is  to  that  of  the  legitimate  merchant- 
man. I  will  merely  state  the  manner  in  which  these 
people  are  purchased.  An  English,  or  French  vessel, 
runs  into  some  out  of  the  way  port  in  Madagascar, 
lets  go  her  anchor,  invites  the  king  aboard,  makes 
him  presents  of  articles  trifling  in  value  to  us,  but  in 
the  eyes  of  the  savage  of  intrinsic  worth.  After 
flattering  his  vanity  and  cupidity  they  broach  their 
object  in  visiting  the  coast.  The  king,  nothing  loath, 
invites  the  supercargo  ashore,  and  shows  him  the 
flesh  and  blood  he  has  for  sale.  The  merchant  in 
human  slavery  carries  ashore  old  condemned  mus- 
kets, kegs  of  powder,  jack-knives,  hoop  iron,  trinkets, 


APPRENTICE   SYSTEM.  819 

beads,  and  calico  (these  being  the  articles  most  sought 
after  by  thera).  He  then  selects  the  most  fitting 
objects  for  his  purposes,  and,  after  considerable  chaf- 
fering on  both  sides,  the  purchases  are  taken  aboard 
ship  to  be  conveyed  to  a  foreign  country,  ostensibly 
for  a  term  of  years,  but  really  for  as  long  as  their 
owners  choose  to  detain  them.  At  the  same  time 
the  purchasers  do  not  know  whether  they  are  pris- 
oners of  war  or  the  king's  own  flesh  and  blood; 
neither  do  they  care,  their  object  being  to  gain 
money  by  making  merchandize  of  a  free  people. 
The  governor  of  Mauritius  receiving  so  much  per 
head,  as  a  perquisite,  for  each  one  that  is  imported 
into  the  colony,  holds  out  every  inducement  for  their 
introduction  into  the  island;  and  I  should  judge, 
from  the  crowded  state  of  the  ships  that  arrived  with 
them  as  cargoes,  that  the  trade  was  most  thriving. 
In  fact,  at  the  time  we  lay  here,  this  was  the  only 
freight  procurable,  shipmasters  complaining  that 
they  could  not  find  employment  for  their  vessels; 
some  of  them  having  laid  here  for  months  w^ithout 
being  able  to  engage  a  freight.  I  should  think  that 
at  least  two  thousand  of  these  pseudo  apprentices 
arrived  whilst  we  were  here ;  they  embraced  for  the 
most  part  the  natives  of  the  Malabar  coast,  and  of 
the  Island  of  Madagascar.  I  omitted,  in  my  descrip- 
tion of  the  latter,  to  remark  upon  their  fondness  for 
ornament ;  scarce  one  of  them  can  be  seen,  male  or 
female,  young  or  old,  whose  arms  or  ankles  are  not 
covered  with  silver  wristlets  and  anklets;  those 
whose  finances  will  not  admit  of  their  wearing  the 
precious  metals  for  ornamental  purposes,  use  those 
made  of  clay,  neatly  ornamented  and  gilded.   Many 


320  ENGLISHMEN   SELLING   SLAVES. 

of  the  women  wear  jewels,  which,  by  some  contrac- 
tion of  the  skin  of  the  forehead  are  so  arranged  as 
to  always  remain  there.  They  are  w^orn  in  its  center, 
directly  over  the  bridge  of  the  noise ;  they  are 
diamond-  or  lozenge-shaped,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
of  an  emerald  green. 

One  day,  whilst  strolling  up  an  avenue  contiguous 
to  the  wharf,  I  was  attracted  by  a  crowd  assembled 
around  a  walled  enclosure ;  taking  the  privilege  of 
my  nation  (curiosity),  I  elbowed  my  way  through  the 
mixed  assemblage,  and  saw  ("tell  it  not  in  Askalon, 
publish  it  not  in  Gath,")  two  English  auctioneers,  in 
a  country  under  England's  control,  and  governed  by 
England's  laws,  mounted  on  their  rostrums,  selling 
what  they  call  in  the  British  Isles,  their  fellow-men, 
co-equal  in  all  respects  to  themselves.  To  say  that 
I  was  surprised  would  convey  but  a  faint  idea  of  my 
feelings — I  was  really  astounded.  After  recovering 
somewhat  from  my  astonishment,  I  was  so  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  ridiculousness  of  England's  so  often 
vaunted  philanthropy,  that,  had  I  been  in  a  proper 
place,  I  could  have  indulged  in  a  hearty  burst  of 
laughter.  As  it  was,  I  could  not,  without  an  effort, 
control  my  risibilities.  This  feeling  soon  gave  way 
to  that  of  indignation  at  the  recreant  sons  and 
daughters  of  our  own  soil,  who  disgrace  our  country, 
after  having  been  nursed  and  rocked  in  the  cradle 
of  liberty — as  soon  as  they  are  out  of  their  swaddUng 
clothes,  turning  upon  and  stinging  their  nurse,  and 
for  the  sake  of  political  or  monetary  personal  ag- 
grandizement, publishing  wishy-w^ashy  novels  con- 
taining such  perverted  descriptions  of  our  Southern 
slavery  system,  as  to  induce  foreigners  to  think  our 


THE   SLAVE-MART — ARRAY   OF   THE   SLAVES.      321 

boast  of  liberty  and  a  free  government  is  but  a  farce. 
Such  persons  do  not  merit  being  dignified  b}^  the 
notice  of  honest  men,  which  they  court ;  and,  whether 
it  be  in  the  form  of  a  favorable  mention  or  a  criti- 
cism, is  all  one  to  them,  so  long  as  it  gives  them 
publicity.  As  they  cater  for  the  morbid  literary  ap- 
petites of  the  sycophantic  courtiers  of  the  Old  "World, 
who  are  only  too  eager  to  pick  holes  in  our  beautiful 
and,  to  them,  unattainable  system  of  government, 
a  notice,  to  these  horror  fabricators,  answers  all 
the  purposes  of  an  advertisement;  so  I  shall  bid 
them  farewell,  only  exhorting  Americans  to  cry 
shame  on  such  scorpions. 

To  return  to  the  slave-mart.  As  I  before  said, 
there  were  two  rostrums  erected,  on  each  of  which 
an  auctioneer  was  busily  employed  crying  the  merits 
of  the  merchandise,  and  eagerly  soliciting  a  bid  ;  both 
were  crying  the  same  article  —  the  second  repeating, 
word  for  word,  all  that  his  superior  said  in  regard  to 
the  price  and  quality  of  the  article  put  up. 

The  slaves  w^ere  gathered  and  arranged  in  groups 
close  by  the  rostrums.  ^N'either  sex  had  any  other 
covering  than  the  breech-cloth,  so  as  to  display  the 
mucular  system  to  the  utmost  advantage.  The  pur- 
chasers, who  for  the  most  part  are  French  planters, 
walk  in  amongst  them,  examine  their  muscles,  teeth, 
and  joints,  make  them  leap  to  show  their  activity, 
and  in  every  way  that  their  experience  suggests 
satisfy  themselves  with  respect  to  the  availability  of 
the  slave.  Their  almost  nude  condition  displays  to 
advantage  their  erect  and  symmetrical  forms,  and  in 
the  women  particularly,  those  points  for  which  the 
females  of  the  East  are  so  justly  celebrated, 

V 


322      SAVING  CLAUSE  —  THE   SLAVE'S   UNCONCERN. 

The  only  saving  clause  in  the  whole  transaction 
was,  that,  in  case  any  of  the  slaves  had  a  family,  the 
purchaser  was  compelled  to  buy  them  all  together, 
or  not  at  all. 

Instead  of  having  the  gloomy  faces  and  downcast 
mien  that  one  would  naturally  expect  to  see  in 
rational  beings  under  such  somber  auspices,  these 
people,  with  the  thoughtlessness,  or  recklessness,  of 
their  race,  were  laughing  and  joking  apparently  with 
heartfelt  glee.  The  younger  portion  engaged  mean- 
while in  little  love-passages;  and  I  was  struck  by 
the  coquettish  archness  with  which  the  young  women 
naively  avoided  the  too  pressing  advances  of  their 
admirers,  by  gracefully  shaking  their  beautifully- 
formed  heads,  adorned  with  the  glossiest  of  ebon 
hair,  and  at  the  same  time  accompanying  it  with  the 
most  roguish  expression  from  their  deep  black  eyes, 
while  merrily  laughing  and  displaying  their  pearly 
teeth.  At  such  times,  and  on  such  occasions,  the 
beholder,  albeit  he  may  belong  to  a  superior  race,  is 
apt  to  forget  his  prejudices,  and  think  that  the  poor 
slave  before  him  is  susceptible  of  truly  loving,  and 
of  being  loved,  as  well  as  the  fair  representatives  of 
his  own  race. 

After  purchasing  as  many  as  he  wants,  the  planter 
arranges  his  slaves  in  Indian  file,  proceeds  to  the 
warehouses  where  he  purchases  his  supplies,  and  each 
member  of  the  file  poises  some  article  or  other  on 
his  or  her  head;  and  thus  they  march  to  the  planta- 
tion, where  they  are  to  remain  until  the  expiration 
of  their  servitude  —  never  coming  to  the  town,  unless 
accompanying  their  owner. 

These  people  are  very  expert  in  carrying  burdens 


METHOD    OF   PUNISHMENT.  323 

on  their  heads,  and  iu  this  way  we  may  account  for 
their  erect  carriage.  At  any  minute  in  the  day 
women  and  children  may  be  seen  carrying  earthen 
jars  containing  molasses  or  oil,  threading  the  crowded 
thoroughfares,  and  bringing  their  loads  safe  to  their 
destination  —  a  feat  not  to  be  accomplished  by  those 
unaccustomed  to  the  practice. 

On  the  principle  that  sparing  the  rod  spoils  the 
child,  (for  these  people  are  viewed  only  as  children,) 
their  owners  are  not  at  all  reserved  in  the  use  of  this 
instrument  of  chastisement;  and  along  with  the  gangs 
at  labor  may  the  overseer  be  seen  applying  it  with- 
out remorse.  As  the  blow  generally  falls  on  the 
skull,  I  can  see  little  reason  for  a  preference  of  this 
to  the  method  of  punishment  by  lashes  on  the  back 
in  vogue  in  our  Southern  States.  This,  however,  is 
not  their  only  way  of  punishment.  I  saw  several 
instances  of  gross  personal  abuse.  In  one  case  I  saw 
the  slave  thrown  down,  and  dragged  by  the  waist- 
band over  the  sharp  points  of  the  macadamized 
street,  with  nothing  to  protect  his  buttocks  from 
laceration  except  several  thicknesses  of  calico.  The 
poor  fellow,  apparently  aware  of  its  uselessness,  made 
no  complaint.  This  occurred,  not  in  an  obscure 
place  —  not  in  the  purlieus  of  the  town,  but  in  a 
public  street,  where  people  were  constantly  passing, 
and  who,  if  any  feeling  at  all  were  expressed  by  them, 
only  laughed  at  the  ludicrousness  of  the  scene.  A 
police-officer  stood  looking  on  apathetically,  as  though 
the  whole  afiair  were  a  matter  of  course. 

Impelled  with  a  desire  to  know  what  Englishmen 
thought  of  the  apprentice-system,  I  put  the  question 
to  every  intelligent  one  that  I  could  get  at.    In  nine 


324         THE  APPRENTICE-SYSTEM   AND   SLAVERY. 

cases  out  of  ten  my  auditor  would  waive  the  question 
by  starting  some  other  subject  of  conversation ;  but 
by  the  employment  of  a  little  finesse  I  generally 
managed  to  corner  him,  when,  upon  argument  and 
hearing  explanations  of  our  system,  he  would  con- 
fess that  there  was  but  a  shade  of  difference  between 
the  two.  One  candid  specimen  of  the  John  Bull 
character,  whom  I  accidentally  formed  an  acquaint- 
ance with,  (and  one,  too,  who  had  made  the  tour  of 
our  Southern  States  from  Delaware  to  Texas — a  man 
of  strong  mind  and  superior  intelligence,  and  from 
the  knowledge  he  possessed  of  the  subject,  also  a 
man  of  observation,)  stated  that  our  slaves  were  better 
housed  than  the  apprentices  under  the  control  of  mag- 
nanimous and  philanthropic  Britain  !  Verily,  Eng- 
land should  look  at  home;  and,  if  she  can,  apologize, 
and  legislate  for  her  factory-system,  which  heretofore 
has  been  the  set-off"  advanced  by  Americans  to  her 
abuse  of  our  slavery-system.  Here  is  the  same  sys- 
tem, with  such  a  close  affinity  to  ours,  that  she  can- 
not apologize  for  or  mitigate  it,  without  rendering 
us  justice,  and  thereby  exposing  her  previous  hypo- 
crisy and  selfishness. 

Strange  —  strange,  very  strange  —  it  is,  that  the 
philanthropists  of  the  United  Kingdom  have  never 
taken  cognizance  of  these  facts.  What  a  splendid 
theater  Mauritius  presents  for  the  Address  drawn  up 
by  the  Ladies  of  Great  Britain  and  sent  to  the  Ladies 
of  the  United  States,  (which,  however,  to  the  honor  of 
our  countrywomen  be  it  said,  was  contemptuously  re- 
jected,) and  signed  by  I  do  not  remember  how  many 
thousands  of  the  mothers,  daughters,  and  wives  of 
Merry  England  and  her  dependencies ;  which  ladies, 


DISINTERESTEDNESS   OF   OUR   CONVICTIONS.        325 

in  a  body,  had  the  most  disinterested  wish  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  black  races  held 
in  thraldom  by  their  white  cotempories,  (or,  to  use 
the  words  of  Lucy  Stone,  they  had  "  a  fellow-feeling 
in  their  bosoms  for  the  oppressed  of  all  nations," 
though  whether  the  "fellow"  ever  found  these  mar- 
tyrs I  do  not  know).  Here,  I  repeat,  is  an  excellent 
field  for  their  Address ;  though,  as  to  whether  it  will 
meet  with  the  same  contumelious  reception  as  it  did 
in  the  "land  of  the  free,"  or  meet  with  a  reception 
adequate  to  its  fitness  for  the  city  of  Port  Louis, 
a  trial  only  can  determine.  Perhaps  the  editor  of 
the  Thunderer  could  bring  the  feasibility  of  such  a 
proceeding  to  the  notice  of  those  fair  reformers 
through  the  columns  of  his  widely-circulated  journal. 

In  writing  the  above  description  of  the  apprentice- 
system,  I  have  not  only  embodied  my  own,  but  the 
collective  convictions  of  the  whole  crew  of  the  vessel ; 
and,  as  two-thirds  of  them  were  from  Massachusetts, 
their  opinions,  if  not  my  own,  are  worthy  of  belief: 
beside,  there  was  no  Southerner  aboard,  to  convert 
us  to  Southern  opinions — not  one  of  us  having  been 
reared  to  the  southward  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line ; 
so  that  no  personal  interest  or  feeling  swa3^s  our 
description  of  this  evil.  Hence  I  think  that  our 
observations  are  entitled  ^to  the  regard  of  those 
who  laud  the  freedom,  philanthropy,  and  disin- 
terestedness of  the  government  of  the  British  Islands 
at  the  expense  of  our  own;  and  if  I  can  enable 
but  one  of.  them  to  see  and  confess  the  error  of  his 
or  her  ways,  I  shall  consider  my  labor  well  repaid. 
And  here  I  now  leave  this  subject. 

I  cannot  imagine  why  whalers  visit  this  port  in 
28 


826  CHEAP  LIQUOR   AND   SEGARS. 

preference  to  others  where  they  could  be  much  better 
supplied.  To  be  sure  the  American  consul  is  resi- 
dent, and  through  him  they  can  draw  money  to  the 
extent  of  their  necessities ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
provisions  are  excessively  dear,  and  so  are  all  other 
supplies  needful  for  shipping.  Two  articles  are  cheap 
—  liquors  and  segars;  the  latter  being  made  from 
tobacco  grown  on  the  island.  Instead  of  being  filled, 
as  w^ith  us,  and  enclosed  in  a  wrapper,  the  natives 
make  them  entirely  of  wrappers.  They  are  very  mild, 
and  can  be  purchased  for  a  song ;  everybody  smokes 
them  and  the  consumption  must  be  immense.  The 
plug  tobacco  is  of  American  manufacture,  and,  from 
the  duty  imposed  upon  it  by  the  government,  com- 
mands a  high  price. 

Notwithstanding  the  cheapness  of  liquors,  there  is 
but  very  little  intoxication  to  be  seen  amongst  the 
community,  although  all  seem  to  indulge,  more  or 
less,  in  its  use.  The  favorite  drinks  are  the  lighter 
wines,  such  as  the  claret  and  Vermouth ;  these  are 
pleasant,  but  are  detrimental  to  a  healthy  condition 
of  the  bowels,  and,  therefore,  excessive  indulgence 
in  them  in  this  climate  is  purchased  at  a  dear  rate. 

There  is  no  scarcity  of  money,  most  of  the  ex- 
changes being  made  in  the  metallic  currency  of  Great 
Britain,  and  as  our  Scrimschawing,  or  to  use  a  less 
outlandish  term,  our  different  manufactures  from  the 
bone  and  ivory  procured  from  the  whale,  were  to 
these  people  great  curiosities,  they  commanded 
good  prices.  It  was  not  unusual  to  get  from  twenty 
to  thirty  shillings  for  a  bone  cane ;  and  jagged  knives, 
used  by  the  pastry  cook  for  filagreeing  the  edges  of 
his  pies  and  tarts,  were  eagerly  bought  up  at  a  pound 


JEALOUSY   OF  THE   FRENCH  AND   ENGLISH.        327 

the  pair.  Consequently,  all  our  boys  who  possessed 
numbers  of  these  articles  were  well  supplied  with  the 
rhino.  The  reason  these  articles  are  so  eagerly 
sought  for  in  this  port,  is  that  no  whalers  are  fitted 
out  or  belong  here ;  neither  is  there  any  market  for 
the  sale  of  whale  oil  —  the  inhabitants  universally 
burning  the  oil  expressed  from  the  cocoa-nut ;  and  as 
the  cocoa  tree  is  indigenous  to  the  island,  and  grows 
in  great  profusion,  it  is  readily  obtainable  at  a  low 
rate.  The  captain  of  the  I^auticon,  who  lost  his 
ship  among  the  Seychelle  Islands,  is  here,  and  has 
been  importuned  over  and  over  again  by  the  mer- 
chants of  the  port,  to  return  to  the  United  States, 
build  and  fit  a  vessel  with  all  necessary  accouterments, 
and  bring  her  here  to  sail  as  a  colonial  whaler 
belonging  to  Port  Louis.  The  future  must  decide  as 
to  whether  he  coincides  wdtli  them  so  far  as  to  act 
.  out  their  wishes ;  but  it  is  easily  seen  that  such  a 
proceeding  must  necessarily  be  remunerative,  as  no 
sooner  has  a  whaler  left  the  port  than  she  is  on  the 
very  best  sperm  whaling-ground  in  the  Indian  Ocean, 
and  the  prevalence  of  the  trade-winds  and  general 
good  w^eather  for  nine  months  of  the  year,  render  it 
an  eligible  -cruising  ground. 

There  is  an  excessive  jealousy  existing  between 
the  French  and  English  residents  —  the  French  con- 
sidering themselves  as  the  rightful  owners  of  the 
soil,  lords  to  the  manor  born ;  whilst  the  English 
plume  themselves  upon  the  conquest  of  the  island, 
and  consider  possession  nine  points  of  the  law. 
Little  intercourse,  apart  from  their  business  relations, 
exists  between  the  two  nations,  and  the  same  feelini? 
prevails,  not  only  among  the  residents,  but  among 


328  GERMAN   SAILORS  —  MARKETS. 

the  sailors  of  ships  belonging  to  the  two  countries. 
Sunday  night,  generally,  is  the  occasion  of  broils 
between  them,  and  these,  the  police  informed  me, 
were  the  most  serious  disturbances  they  had  to  con- 
tend with. 

The  German  sailors  were  the  merriest  of  any  nation 
whom  I  saw  on  liberty  —  gathering  in  little  knots, 
and  singing  the  songs  of  their  fatherland  with  the 
utmost  good-fellowship,  and  not  without  melody. 
They  were  very  exclusive  in  their  associations,  and 
mixed  with  none  but  their  own  circle  of  shipmates. 

The  markets  of  Mauritius  were  filled  with  fruit  of 
the  various  kinds  to  be  found  in  tropical  climates  — 
the  pine-apple,  cocoa-nut,  banana,  oranges,  lemons, 
and  limes,  all  being  found  here  in  abundance.  The, 
favorite  condiment  of  the  blacks  is  the  sugar-cane, 
which  they  suck  in  pieces  as  long  as  themselves ;  and 
two  youngsters  may  be  seen,  each  supporting  and 
sucldng  away  at  either  end  of  a  piece  of  green  sugar- 
cane a  fathom  in  length. 

This  city  differs  very  much  from  Hobartown  in 
two  of  its  striking  features.  In  the  latter  city,  at 
every  corner  is  to  be  seen  a  mendicant;  in  Port  Louis 
I  did  not  see  a  single  person  soliciting  charity.  The 
other  feature  that  I  refer  to  is  the  absence  of  all 
itinerant  hawkers,  except  the  cake  venders,  who  are 
the  only  class  of  petty  tradesmen  who  make  a  depot 
of  the  streets  for  the  sale  of  their  goods ;  whilst  in 
the  capital  of  Yan  Diemen's  Land,  as  I  have  re- 
marked elsewhere  in  my  notice  on  it,  at  every  step 
one  is  beset  by  these  pertinacious  leeches,  anxious  to 
make  a  sale. 

But  in  another  point  there  is  a  perfect  resemblance 


BRITISH   SOLDIERS.  329 

between  both  cities  —  that  is  the  presence  of  a  regi- 
ment of  British  infantry;  a  provision  that  Great 
Britain  never  neglects  in  any  of  her  colonies,  govern- 
ing her  subjects  by  appealing  to  their  fears  of  the 
bayonet,  wielded  by  a  hireling  and  remorseless 
soldiery.  This  regiment  is  about  leaving  its  station 
here  for  the  seat  of  war  in  India.  I  conversed  freely 
with  several  of  its  members,  and  although  they  dis- 
played no  symptoms  of  fear  at  the  prospect  of  being 
engaged  with  an  enemy,  still  there  was  a  total  lack 
of  enthusiasm  or  patriotism.  From  the  atrocities  so 
glaringly  held  before  the  public  by  the  English  jour- 
nals, as  committed  by  the  Sikhs  on  British  residents 
in  India,  I  had  expected  to  find  an  eagerness  on  the 
part  of  the  gentlemen  with  the  red  coats,  to  avenge 
their  countrymen  and  countrywomen  so  barbarously 
maltreated ;  but  so  wags  the  world,  one  half  caring 
not  or  feeling  not  for  the  miseries  or  misfortunes  of 
the  other  half. 

Kow  I  shall  change  the  subject  from  a  considera- 
tion of  the  biped  portion  of  the  population  to  an 
analysis  of  the  condition  and  quality  of  the  quad- 
rupeds. On  account  of  the  trouble  and  expense 
attending  the  procreation  of  the  horse,  he  is  here 
quite  a  dignified  animal,  and  is  only  used  by  the 
aristocratic  portion  of  the  population  for  the  lightest 
draughting.  His  high  price,  too,  ensures  his  careful 
treatment ;  and  all  who  can  afford  to  keep  a  carriage, 
whose  business  requires  its  use  all  day,  change  the 
animal  and  put  a  fresh  one  in  the  traces  at  noon. 
The  reason  why  the  horse  commands  so  high  a  price 
here  is,  that  the  Government  interdicts  the  introduc- 
tion of  mares  into  the  island ;  whether  the  climate  is 
28* 


330  HORSES  AND   VEHICLES. 

prejudicial  to  the  breed  of  the  animal,  or  Great  Bri- 
tain, in  her  forethought,  vetoes  their  importation,  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  a  market  for  the  surplus 
stock  of  her  Australian  colonies,  is  a  point  which,  in 
the  absence  of  any  authority,  I  am  unable  to  decide. 

The  vehicles  are  of  English  construction,  and  are 
moderately  light ;  the  rattan  body,  which  is  so  con- 
ducive to  ventilation  and  comfort  in  warm  weather, 
being  in  general  use.  Their  harness,  too,  is  of  Euro- 
pean manufacture  —  made  light,  to  conform  with  the 
oppressiveness  of  the  climate. 

And  now  that  we  have  pretty  thoroughly  reviewed 
the  town  and  its  purlieus,  we  w^ill  return  to  our 
proper  element,  and  give  an  account  of  what  trans- 
pired in  the  harbor  during  our  stay.  First  we  will 
notice  the  whaling  barque.  Belle  of  Warren,  which 
came  in  to  post  letters ;  of  the  boat's  crew  who  went 
ashore  for  this  purpose,  one  did  not  return,  having 
taken  leg  bail  for  security.  I  saw  him  ashore  several 
times  afterward,  and  he  was  wandering  about  without 
a  discharge  and  without  a  home,  looking  destitute 
and  woebegone.  The  Belle  remained  but  a  few  days ; 
meantime  the  whaleship  Martha  made  her  appear- 
ance, for  the  purpose  of  landing  her  third  mate,  who 
goes  to  the  hospital  to  be  treated  for  a  pulmonary  affec- 
tion. The  Martha  reports  that  the  portion  of  the 
whaling  fleet  which  went  to  the  northward  humpback- 
ing,  were  as  unsuccessful  as  ourselves ;  seeing  nothing, 
and,  consequently,  doing  nothing.  This  goes  to 
strengthen  our  theory  of  the  absence  of  whale  feed 
on  the  coast  during  the  preceding  season.  The 
Martha  made  as  short  a  stay  as  the  Belle  —  both 
vessels  having,  like  us,  seen  sperm  whales  near  the 


BRIG    ELIZABETH   AND   JANE.  331 

Island  of  Rodrique,  and  both  intending  to  return 
there.     Hence  their  haste  to  leave  port. 

The  next  whaler  that  made  her  appearance  was 
the  barque  Columbus,  of  ]S"ew  Bedford:  she,  like  the 
Martha,  had  accomplished  nothing  humpbacking, 
but  on  her  passage  from  New  Holland  to  this  port, 
had  captured  three  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  sperm 
oil,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Island  of  Rodrique.  Like 
us,  the  Columbus  came  in  for  provisions,  and  to  give 
her  crew  liberty.  Her  crew  comprised,  for  the  most 
part,  men  who  had  been  shipped  in  Hobartown ; 
and  they  had  scarcely  set  foot  ashore  when  they 
were  squabbling. 

Soon  after  the  Columbus's  arrival,  the  barque  Me- 
chanic, of  ISTewport,  came  in.  She  was  seventeen 
days  from  Anglers,  and,  although  there  was  no  sick- 
ness on  board,  was  compelled,  by  a  law  of  the  port, 
to  go  into  quarantine  until  the  expiration  of  twenty- 
one  days  from  the  time  of  her  leaving  Anglers,  that 
being  the  time  set  by  the  law.  After  performing  the 
quarantine  she  was  hauled  into  the  inner  harbor  to 
undergo  repairs. 

And  now,  for  the  time  being,  we  have  done  with 
American  whalers,  and  come  to  one  sailing  under  the 
flag  of  England — the  brig  Elizabeth  and  Jane,  of  Ho- 
bartown. She  was  fitted  out  as  a  tender  for  some  larger 
vessel,  and  sent  to  Desolation  for  the  capture  of  whales, 
sea-elephants,  and  seals,  indiscriminately;  she  had  a 
Yankee  mate,  and  was  intended  by  the  Hobartown 
merchants  to  be  the  pioneer  of  a  fleet  to  compete  with 
the  Yankees  in  the  procuring  of  oil,  which  trade  has, 
for  many  years,  been  a  prolific  source  of  wealth  to 
those  engaged  in  it ;  the  bleak  shores  of  Kerguleus 


WORTHLESS  FOREIGN  SEAMEN. 

land  being  a  favorite  resort  for  those  creatures  so 
eagerly  sought  for  by  the  whaleman.  Scarcely  had 
the  brig  arrived  at  the  scene  of  her  anticipated  opera- 
tions before  she  commenced  leaking  so  badly,  that 
the  crew  were  kept  continually  pumping,  day  and 
night;  necessitating  her  being  carried  into  port,  and 
either  being  thoroughly  repaired  or  condemned  as 
unseaworthy.  On  bringing  her  into  Mauritius,  the 
captain  preferred  a  complaint  to  the  authorities 
against  his  men,  charging  them  with  mutiny  and 
threatening  his  life.  Before  the  authorities  had  time 
to  act  upon  his  information,  about  one  half  of  the 
crew  took  one  of  the  boats,  went  ashore,  and  got 
drunk.  A  fight  followed  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
in  this  condition  they  were  easily  captured  by  the 
police.  Those  who  were  left  aboard  were  brought 
ashore  in  irons ;  but  they  did  not  seem  to  mind  the 
manacles,  all  of  them  being  convicts,  w^ho,  no  doubt, 
had  been  accustomed  to  such  bracelets  before.  After 
landing,  they  were  convej^ed  to  the  jail,  where  their 
companions  were  already  lodged.  The  following 
morning  they  were  brought  before  the  magistrate, 
who,  after  hearing  both  sides  of  the  case,  dismissed 
the  charge  as  unfounded  and  frivolous,  at  the  same 
time  adding  some  wholesome  advice  to  the  master 
of  the  vessel  for  the  future  government  of  those 
Tinder  his  command.  A  few  days  after  the  brig  was 
condemned  as  unseaworthy. 

We  will  now  return  to  our  own  vessel  and  crew. 
As  I  stated  in  the  former  part  of  my  journal,  we 
shipped  Irishmen  in  Hobartown,  and  Englishmen  in 
Vasse.  During  the  time  they  have  been  aboard  we 
have  been  thoroughly  convinced  of  their  utter  use- 


TEN  OF  OUR  CREW  DISCHARGED.       833 

lessness — their  indolence  preventing  their  acquiring 
sufficient  insischt  into  a  seaman's  duties  to  render 
them  a  useful  part  of  the  ship's  company ;  and  our 
captain  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  them.  On  the  first 
liberty-day,  two,  whom  we  shipped  at  Yasse,  overstaid 
their  liberty,  and  were  informed  by  the  captain  that 
he  w^ould  not  receive  them  aboard  again.  On  the  same 
day,  one,  whom  we  shipped  in  Hobartown,  was  dis- 
charged for  inability  to  do  duty.  W.  B.  Wood,  whom 
we  brought  from  New  Bedford,  was  also  discharged 
sick.  Joseph  A.  Lewis  and  John  Cunningham,  dis- 
charged sick,  and  sent  to  the  hospital.  Wood  and 
Cunningham  were  both  of  our  original  crew;  the 
remaining  one,  whom  we  shipped  at  Yasse,  deserted. 
A  seaman,  shipped  in  Hobartown,  was  discharged 
with  the  consent  of  the  contracting  parties;  one, 
shipped  in  Yasse,  in  January,  1857,  and  who,  during 
the  time  he  has  been  aboard,  has  been  acting  as 
fourth  mate,  was  discharged  with  his  own  consent ; 
and  one,  whom  we  got  in  Hobartown,  is  in  jail — so 
that  we  are  ten  less  in  number  than  when  we  dropped 
anchor  on  the  day  of  our  entering  the  harbor.  In 
their  places  we  have  shipped  five  men,  all  of  whom 
are  Americans,  and  have  been  whaling  before. 
I  said  that  we  had  shipped  five,  but  two  of  the 
■h-ve  came  aboard  without  any  agreement  with  the 
captain.  These  two  were  policemen,  who  had  be- 
come disgusted  with  wearing  her  majesty's  button, 
and  on  their  hinting  their  wish  to  get  afloat  again, 
our  boys  readily  offered  to  assist  them.  Besides 
these,  we  shipped  a  lad  of  fifteen  as  steerage-boy. 

Although  we  had  thus  replaced  the  ten  with  but 
^ve  men,  we  found,  as  soon  as  we  got  into  blue 


834  CHARACTER   OF  THE  DISMISSED   HANDS. 

water,  that  we  had  a  much  more  effective  crew  than 
we  had  had  at  any  time  during  the  preceding  six- 
teen months.  The  ten  discharged  and  deserted  com- 
prised all  the  useless  material  in  the  ship  —  the 
foreign  portion  of  them,  in  fact,  being  worse  than 
useless;  for,  together  with  their  incapacity,  they  had 
a  propensity  to  growl,  and  made  both  themselves 
and  those  with  whom  they  were  associated  uncom- 
fortable. Their  thievishness,  too,  had  still  adhered 
to  them,  notwithstanding  their  penal  servitude.  One 
of  them,  we  discovered  after  leaving  port,  had  on 
his  dismissal  carried  away  with  him  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  cooper's  tools.  This  was  Leonard,  pro- 
fessedly a  cooper  by  trade. 


WHALES  —  CAPTURE  A  COW  AND   CALF.  335 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  October  lltK 
we  weighed  our  anchor,  and,  with  a  fair  wind,  stood 
out  to  sea.  Twenty-four  hours  afterwards  we  sighted 
a  school  of  sperm  whales,  consisting  of  cows  and 
calves.  After  some  little  manoeuvering,  we  lowered 
away  all  four  boats ;  but  the  w^hales  going  to  wind- 
ward, the  captain  and  mate,  after  an  hour's  chase, 
deemed  farther  pursuit  useless,  and  returned  aboard. 
The  other  boats,  however,  continued  the  chase;  and 
at  about  5  P.  M.  the  third  mate's  boatsteerer  fastened, 
killing  the  whale  with  his  irons.  Whilst  hauling  up 
to  him,  the  line  became  entangled  in  the  jaws  of  an- 
other w^hale,  and  was  severed.  The  third  mate  then 
lanced  and  killed  three  more ;  but  night  coming  on, 
and  the  weather  becoming  rugged,  he  was  unable 
to  save  any  of  them,  and  obliged  to  return  to  the 
ship  empty-handed.  The  mate,  in  the  interim,  had 
fastened  to  a  cow,  and  killed  her  and  her  calf,  both 
of  which  were  saved ;  but  it  was  midnight  before 
w^e  had  them  secured  alongside.  These  two  were 
the  most  diminutive  whales  it  has  been  our  fortune 
to  capture.  The  cow,  w^hich  was  the  first  female  of 
the  species  we  have  had  alongside,  was  about  thirty- 
five  feet  in  length,  and  of  much  inferior  bulk  to  the 
male.  Her  skin  was  smoother,  glossier,  and  of  a 
deeper  color;  and,  taken  altogether,  she  w^as  a  much 


336  THE  ISLE  KEUNION,  OR   BOURBON. 

handsomer  fish  than  the  bull  sperm-whale.  The  calf 
was  about  fifteen  feet  long  —  lacking  none  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  older  fish,  except  the  teeth,  which 
as  yet  were  not  cut ;  but  on  getting  the  jaw  on  deck 
we  penetrated  the  gum,  and  found  perfectly-shaped 
teeth,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length.  The  fol- 
lowing day  we  cut  them  in,  and  tried  them  out. 
They  yielded,  altogether,  a  trifie  over  twenty  barrels 
of  oil. 

After  taking  these  whales,  we  ran  several  degrees 
to  the  eastward,  and  spent  a  week  in  cruising, 
during  which  w^e  saw  whales  three  times  —  in  each 
case  going  to  wdndward  eyes  out,  without  giving  us 
the  shadow  of  a  chance  to  lower  for  them.  We  re- 
traced our  course,  and  on  the  23d  passed  Mauritius. 
The  following  day  we  coasted  along  the  Isle  Ke- 
union,  or  Bourbon  —  an  island  under  the  dominion 
of  France,  and  so  beautifully  fertile  as  to  be  called  the 
Garden  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  From  hence  the  Mau- 
ritians obtain  most  of  their  agricultural  supplies,  and 
quite  a  fieet  of  coasting  vessels  is  employed  in  the 
carrying  trade  between  the  two  islands.  Some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  amount  of  this  trade  when  I 
quote  the  remark  of  one  of  the  citizens  of  Port  Louis, 
that,  "  were  it  not  for  the  productions  of  Bourbon, 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Port  Louis  would  starve  to 
death."  All  the  tillage  and  other  laborious  work 
on  this  island  is  performed  by  the  natives  of  Mada- 
gascar, introduced  here  by  the  French,  under  the 
same  apprentice-system  as  that  practised  by  Great 
Britain. 

The  island,  like  Mauritius,  is  composed  principally 
of  very  high  land,  some  points  being  elevated  many 


THE  MASCAREXHA  ISLES.  337 

thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  A  volcano, 
for  the  name  of  which  I  am  at  a  loss,  towers  far 
above  all.  It  beincr  a  moonlio-ht  nis^ht  when  we 
passed,  we  saw  but  little  of  its  eruption,  which  is 
continual  —  lighting  up  the  surface  of  the  ocean  for 
miles.  This  island  has  since  been  made  the  French 
Naval  Depot  for  the  Indian  Ocean. 

There  is  no  good  harbor  on  this  island,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  of  there  being  no  resident 
American  consul,  is  the  reason  for  the  rarity  of 
whaleships  visiting  it. 

The  three  islands,  Bourbon,  Mauritius,  and  Kod- 
rique,  were  first  taken  possession  of  by  the  Fjiench, 
and  for  many  years  were  known  as  the  French  East 
India  Islands.  During  the  wars  between  France  and 
Great  Britain,  Mauritius  was  the  naval  depot  for  the 
former  power,  from  which  her  cruisers  were  fitted 
out  for  the  annoyance  of  the  East  India  commerce 
of  the  enemy;  but  during  the  time  of  I^apoleon, 
(when  England's  operations  were  restricted  to  the 
ocean,)  as  an  oflTset  to  the  conqueror's  successes  on 
land,  the  wooden  w^alls  of  Old  England  were  busily 
employed  in  making  captures  of  the  various  colonial 
possessions  of  France,  both  in  the  East  and  West 
Indies.  Many  of  these,  subsequent  to  the  negotia- 
tions for  peace,  were  restored.  But  Mauritius  was 
too  important  a  place  to  let  slip,  after  being  once 
occupied ;  wherefore  a  British  regiment  became  part 
of  its  population,  and  the  meteor-flag  of  England 
waved  over  its  battlements.  This  group  is  often 
called  the  Mascarenha  Isles. 

On  Sunday  (October  the  31st)  we  spoke  the  ship 
Brewster,  of  Mattapoissett.  A  few  days  before,  she 
29  W 


838  THE  ISLAND   OF   MADAGASCAR. 

had  a  man  killed  bj  a  sperm  whale :  the  officer  in 
commaod  of  the  boat  having  been  foolhardy  enough 
to  run  on  the  fish  whilst  in  his  flurry,  his  amidship 
oar's  man  was  instantly  swept  from  time  into  eter- 
nity by  a  stroke  of  its  flukes ;  but,  fortunately,  no 
others  of  the  crew  were  injured. 

October  the  25th  we  sighted  the  southern  part  of 
the  Island  of  Madagascar,  which  was  to  be  our 
cruising-ground  for  the  next  two  months.  It  is  any- 
thing but  a  comfortable  latitude  to  make  a  prolonged 
stay  in ;  for,  on  an  average,  once  every  twenty-four 
hours,  violent  rain-storms  of  from  one  to  four  hours* 
duration  thoroughly  drench  the  crew  and  vessel. 
These  squalls  are  attended  with  any  quantity  of 
thunder  and  lightning,  which  adds  very  much  to  the 
disagreeableness  of  their  visitations. 

This  ground  is  the  point  to  which  we  endeavored 
to  beat  up  three  years  ago,  with  the  intention  of 
whaling,  before  visiting  ^N'ew  Holland.  It  bears  a 
good  reputation  as  to  the  presence  of  whales ;  but 
the  fish  are  noted  for  their  fighting  on  being  struck, 
so  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  make  a  capture,  after 
once  striking.  Whether  we  should  have  been  any 
the  more  successful  had  we  visited  and  cruised  on 
this  ground  in  the  earlier  portion  of  our  voyage, 
deponent,  from  his  ignorance,  saith  not. 

I  omitted  to  mention  that  on  account  of  the  exten- 
sion of  the  term  of  our  voyage,  meat  had  been  pur- 
*  chased  in  Mauritius;  also,  ten  barrels  and  a  half  of 
colonial  beef  (of  a  very  inferior  quality)  packed  in 
Melbourne,  and  thirteen  barrels  of  American  pork 
purchased  from  the  ship  Robert  Patton,  of  Boston  : 
which,  together  with  what  we  already  had  aboard, 


LONGING  FOR  HOME  —  OUR  ORIGINAL  CREW.       339 

was  deemed  amply  sufficient  for  our  consumption 
on  the  short  cruise  off  Madagascar,  and  during  our 
passage  home. 

The  time  of  our  leaving  for  home  was  now  set 
to  be  Xew  Year's  Day,  1859.  This  period,  so  long 
and  devoutly  prayed  for,  we  were  assured  would  not 
under  any  circumstances  be  again  postponed,  and 
we  hoped  that  it  would  not ;  for  we  had  been  out 
very  long,  and  all  were  thoroughly  convinced  that 
longer  cruising  for  whales  would  be  entirely  useless. 
To  be  plain ;  all  wanted  to  get  home.  The  whole 
ship's  company,  too,  felt  and  expressed  the  opinion, 
that  the  voyage  was  unlucky,  and  they  wished  to 
begin  a  new  one,  under  better  auspices.  Our  con- 
tinual ill  fortune  in  not  seeing  whales,  and  having 
our  boats  stoven,  had  so  deeply  engendered  this  feel- 
ing that  a  general  lukewarmness  prevailed,  which 
could  only  be  dissipated  by  a  notice  from  the  mast- 
head that  sperm  whales  were  about,  when  indeed  all 
would  again  become  as  eager  as  we  were  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  voyage. 

There  were  now,  of  the  thirty  who  sailed  from 
home  in  the  vessel,  but  twenty-one  remaining ;  yet 
even  this  is  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  original 
crew  than  is  usually  carried  home  from  a  voyage  of 
such  length  as  ours.  The  cabin  had  lost  one  of  its 
members ;  the  steerage  was  intact  —  the  same  boat- 
steerers  remaining  as  when  we  first  set  sail ;  and  of 
the  foremast  hands  ten,  besides  the  cook,  remained : 
making  twenty  one  in  all.  We  had  now  been  so 
long  together,  that  the  withdrawal  of  one  of  our 
number  would  produce  a  feeling  like  that  caused  by 
the  separation  from  a  member  of  one's  own  family; 


340  ACCIDENTAL   DEATH. 

and  it  was  not  without  much  regret  that  we  thought 
on  having  parted  with  the  two  of  our  original  crew 
in  Port  Louis. 

We  continued  off  the  Island  of  Madagascar  up  to 
iN'ovember  27th,  without  aught  to  mar,  or  rather  im- 
prove, the  general  and  almost  uninterrupted  bad 
weather  —  thunder  and  lightning  storms  following 
each  other  with  scarce  any  intermission.  During 
this  time  we  occasionally  saw  a  whale-ship,  and,  if 
the  weather  permitted,  failed  not  to  while  away  a 
part  of  this  dreary  period  in  gammoning.  One  day, 
whilst  so  engaged,  we  learned  that  the  chief  mate 
of  the  ship  Martha,  of  Fairhaven,  had  lost  his  life 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  did  the  seaman  belong- 
ing to  the  Brewster.  The  mate  was  not  seen  to  leave 
the  boat,  neither  was  any  other  of  the  boat's  crew 
injured ;  but  it  appears  that  the  boat  had  been  rashly 
carried  into  a  perilous  and  unwarrantable  situation 
by  the  mate,  and,  in  the  bustle  attendant  to  extri- 
cating the  boat  under  such  circumstances,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  whilst  the  otheTs  were  busy  in  trimming 
boat  and  attending  to  the  line,  the  whale,  by  a  sweep 
of  the  flukes,  struck  the  officer  so  suddenly  and  so 
severely  as  to  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  give  an 
alarm,  whereby  to  attract  their  attention.  Undoubt- 
edly his  death  was  instantaneous ;  but  little  exertion 
on  the  part  of  the  whale  would  be  required  to  supply 
a  sufficiency  of  force  to  crush  vitality  from  the  frame 
of  the  strongest  or  proudest  of  the  human  race. 

This  accident  is  attributed  to  carelessness,  and, 
from  my  own  observation,  I  should  say  that  at  least 
two-thirds  of  the  fatal  accidents  that  occur  to  whale- 
men, in  pursuit  of  their  prey,  result  from  gross  care- 


ARCTIC  FISHING-GROUND.  841 

lessness  or  recklessness  on  the  part  of  the  boat- 
header.  Some  years  ago  it  was  unusual  to  hear  of 
a  fatal  accident  to  those  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
the  whale.  At  that  time  the  fish  were  plenty,  and 
boatheaders,  as  a  class,  were  cool,  sagacious,  and  ex- 
perienced men,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  and 
occupied  in  the  whaling  business  for  years.  These 
men  would  not  risk  their  boat  and  crew  to  almost 
certain  destruction  to  strike  a  whale,  or  to  be  the 
first  boat  fast,  or  to  get  a  fatal  lance  before  another 
boat  arrived ;  but,  working  carefully  and  securely, 
they  bided  the  time  until  a  fit  opportunity  presented 
itself,  and  then,  guided  by  their  long  experience, 
applied  the  lance  expeditiously  and  fatally.  This 
race  of  whalemen  has,  however,  been  supplanted  by 
another  of  younger  men,  who  were  brought  into  the 
field  by  the  prolific  grounds  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  and 
Ochotsk  Sea,  inhabited  as  they  were  by  myriads  of 
bowhead  whales  that  had  never  been  chased  or 
interfered  with  by  -whalemen ;  consequently,  they 
had  not  learned  from  the  past  to  use  all  the  expedients 
furnished  them  by  nature  to  avoid  and  combat 
against  the  wiles  and  stratagems  of  men.  Hence, 
little  else  was  necessary  to  capture  the  bowhead  but 
to  have  a  boat  and  crew,  pull  alongside  the  fish,  dart 
the  irons  into  him,  and,  ere  the  bewildered  creature 
had  recovered  from  his  astonishment,  drive  in  the 
lance  and  kill  him ;  but  now  that  the  bowhead  has 
grown  more  wary,  and  to  take  him  is  a  work  of 
difficulty  and  danger,  ships  do  not  make  such  remu- 
nerative voyages  in  their  pursuit  as  formerly  ;  there- 
fore their  ow^ners,  instead  of  directing  their  vessels 
only  to  the  Arctic  and  Ochotsk,  began  again  to  turn 
29* 


842  A  north-wester's  experience. 

their  attention  to  the,  for  a  few  years,  comparatively 
neglected  grounds  of  the  Indian  Ocean ;  but  they  do 
not  venture  without  many  misgivings  as  to  the  pro- 
bable success  of  their  vessels.  A  few  ships  are  fitted 
out,  they  sail,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  return 
with  excellent  cargoes  —  the  whales,  having  enjoyed 
somewhat  of  a  respite,  again  resorted  to  their  former 
haunts.  All  is  now  hurry  and  bustle  in  New  Bed- 
ford and  the  other  whaling  ports.  These  voyages 
act  as  an  incentive  to  further  operations — mechanics 
are  incited,  by  liberal  offers,  to  extreme  exertion ; 
and  in  a  short  time  the  vessels  are  ready  for  sea. 
The  north-west  whalemen  have  also  heard  of  these 
voyages;  they  apply  for  berths,  and  the  owner,  or 
agent,  in  making  inquiry  as  to  their  qualifications,, 
learns  that  he  or  they  got  so  many  whales  daring  the 
last  voyage.  In  the  absence  of  information,  the 
shipper,  supposing  that  if  the  applicant  can  strike 
and  kill  one  description  of  whale,  he  will  have  no 
trouble  in  capturing  the  others,  engages  him  at  a 
good  price,  which  he  commands  on  the  strength  of 
his  reputation.  The  ship  sails ;  but  when  the  north- 
wester gets  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  he  finds  many 
ships,  but  few  whales,  and  those  few  requiring  different 
manipulation  on  his  part,  if  he  wishes  to  capture 
them,  than  those  with  which  he  is  better  acquainted. 
He  strives  to  become  familiar  with  their  habits,  but, 
unfortunately,  the  w^hales  being  chased  daily,  and 
almost  hourly,  by  some  one  or  another  of  the  various 
vessels  that  occupy  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
ocean  where  there  is  any  likelihood  of  seeing  fish, 
afford  him  but  few  opportunities  of  adding  to  his 
stock  of  experience ;  so  that  it  is  not  until  near  the 


CAUSES    OF   ILL-SUCCESS.  343 

close  of  the  voyage  that  he  becomes  au  fait  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties.  By  this  time  the  golden 
opportunity  has  passed,  and,  but  a  few  months  re- 
maining, he  strives  to  make  up  by  rashness  what  he 
lacks  in  skill,  exposing  himself  and  crew  in  situa- 
tions against  which  his  better  judgment,  in  cooler 
moments,  would  revolt ;  but  this  is  a  losing  game, 
as  his  crew,  who,  with  equal  opportunities  and  equal 
intelligence,  well  know  when  a  whale  is  approached 
in  the  proper  manner,  and,  following  the  precept 
that  self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of  nature,  hesi- 
tate to  pull  anywhere  and  everywhere,  without  satis- 
fying themselves  that  they  are  right,  which  they 
would  not  if  they  had  full  confidence  in  their  officer. 
Hence,  the  want  of  a  perfect  understanding  between 
the  boatheader  and  crew  is  another  prolific  source 
of  accidents.  To  sum  up,  every  day  increases  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  presented  to  those  whose 
calling  is  the  pursuit  of  the  whale :  the  fish  are  either 
becoming  much  less  numerous,  or  else  they  are 
retreating  to  the  frozen  ]^orth  or  South,  where  the 
climate  forbids  man's  encroaching.  They  are  also 
becoming  more  wary,  and  it  is  only  by  the  most  careful 
management  that  a  boat  can  approach  so  as  to  strike 
them ;  they  taking  the  alarm  at  the  least  variation  in 
the  motions  of  the  waves,  and  the  slightest  noise 
being  sufficient  to  alarm  them.  Formerly,  if  we  are 
to  believe  tradition,  such  was  not  the  case;  and 
certainly  the  following  anecdote,  which,  I  engage, 
will  be  told  for  many  years  to  come  by  men  who  will 
attest  to  its  perfect  reliability,  will,  to  some  minds  — 
though  I  must  confess  they  will  be  of  small  caliber 


OLD   SYSTEM   OF  WHALING. 

if  they  give  credence  to  it  —  go  to  substantiate  such 
a  premise,  to  wit : 

It  formerly  was  the  practice  to  provide  each  boat 
from  a  whale-ship  with  a  number  of  bricks.  On 
lowering  for,  and  approaching  within  a  respectable 
distance  of  the  whale,  the  boatsteerer  was  directed 
to  heave  one  of  these  bricks  at  him.  If  he  took  no 
notice  of  the  insult,  he  was  pronounced  perfectly  safe 
and  tractable,  the  boat  was  then  laid  on  and  the  irons 
darted ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  used  his  flukes  or 
fins,  and  made  the  white  water  fly,  the  boat  was 
pointed  for  tlie  ship ;  the  fishermen  being  perfectly 
satisfied  with  the  display  of  his  belligerent  powers 
without  a  nearer  approach,  and  very  well  contented 
to  await  a  more  safe  and  favorable  opportunity  of  in- 
creasing their  store  of  oil. 

On  the  27th  of  November  we  gammoned  the  ship 
Plover,  of  New  Bedford ;  her  mate  and  his  boat's 
crew  being  on  board  our  ship,  and  our  captain  and  a 
boat's  crew  aboard  of  her.  At  3  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  our  masthead's  man  sung  out  for  sperm 
whales.  After  a  short  observation  our  mate  lowered 
away,  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  fastened.  Imme- 
diately the  Plover's  mate  and  our  second  mate 
dropped  their  boats,  and  several  boats  from  the 
Plover  pulled  for  the  scene  of  operations.  After  some 
little  difficulty,  a  second  boat  fastened.  Our  mate, 
going  on  to  lance  the  whale,  had  his  boat  crushed  to 
pieces,  the  w^hale  having  turned  towards  him  sud- 
denly and  grasped  the  boat  in  his  jaw,  making  it  a 
v;reck  in  a  moment;  the  crew  were  pitched  head 
over  heels  into  the  water,  whilst  the  boat,  being  so 
much  damaged,  as  to  be  useless,  floated  away  without 


ACTIONS  OF  A  GREEN  CREW.         345 

being  taken  notice  of.  The  crew  were  soon  picked 
up,  and  in  other  boats  were  trying  to  revenge  their 
Bense  of  injury  on  the  whale.  The  third  mate  of  the 
Plover  now  essayed  to  lance  the  whale,  but  with  no 
better  success,  his  boat  being  stove  in  the  same 
manner.  Our  second  mate  next  tried  and  succeeded ; 
the  other  boats,  having  encircled  the  whale,  diverted 
his  attention,  and  we  turned  him  up.  The  whales 
on  the  Madagascar  ground  are  notorious  for  their 
belligerent  propensities,  and  I  have  been  assured 
by  old  habitues  of  the  vicinity,  that  if  a  boatheader 
escapes  once  in  three  times  from  having  his  boat 
stove,  more  or  less,  he  is  either  an  admirable  man- 
ager, or  a  wonderfully  lucky  fellow. 

The  Plover  is  but  five  months  from  home,  and  her 
crew  had  previously  done  no  whaling  —  she  having 
taken  no  oil ;  therefore  it  was  amusing  to  watch  the 
woebegone  and  rueful  countenances  with  which  the 
boats'  crews  obeyed  the  order  of  their  ofiicers  to  pull 
up  to  the  whale,  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  when 
ordered  to  pull  in  the  opposite  direction,  their  faces 
would  brighten  up  with  an  expression  of  heartfelt 
relief;  and  then  to  look  at  our  own  fellows,  inured 
to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  this  adventurous  pursuit, 
taking  everything  as  coolly  as  if  engaged  in  the  most 
ordinary  occupation;  making  sport  of  hardships  and 
a  jest  of  danger;  eager  as  the  most  insatiate  sports- 
man to  be  in  at  the  death  ;  assisting  their  boatheader 
to  the  utmost,  anticipating  his  orders,  and  acting  out 
all  his  requirements ;  so  that  boat,  officer,  and  crew, 
seemed  to  be  a  nicely  constructed  machine,  work- 
ing by  a  secret  spring  actuating  the  muscles  of  each 
of  its  occupants  with  the  self-same  power.    Evea 


346  DIFFICULT  CAPTURE. 

when  their  boat  was  stoven  they  had  a  jest  to  crack 
at  the  greenhorns.  Poor  fellows,  they  were  much 
more  entitled  to  our  commiseration  than  derision  ; 
we  have  been  through  the  mill,  and  have  seen  and 
suffered,  whilst  they,  unless  circumstances  should 
very  much  favor  them,  are  doomed  to  a  three  years' 
stay  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  where,  if  "forthcoming 
events  cast  their  shadows  before,"  they  are  fated  to 
discover  that  their  one  stoven  boat  is  but  a  foretaste 
of  what  they  will  experience  in  that  line  before  their 
time  is  up. 

Before  we  saw  the  whale  we  observed  a  ship  some 
^ye  miles  to  windward,  with  her  boats  down,  and 
another  about  the  same  distance  to  windward  of  her, 
manceuvering  as  if  for  whales.  We  subsequently 
ascertained  that,  between  noon  and  the  time  we 
struck,  five  vessels  had  attempted  to  capture  this 
whale.  All  these  vessels  being  in  a  direct  line  with 
our  own  ship,  the  whale  following  a  straight  course 
and  going  to  windward,  they  gave  up  the  chase  as 
useless.  We  only  succeeded  by  dropping  our  boat 
when  he  was  a  short  distance  to  leeward,  and  at  a 
time  when  the  sun's  rays  favored  a  near  approach  to 
him.  He  was  a  noble  fellow,  and  well  worthy  the 
trouble  we  had  with  him. 

After  turning  the  whale  up,  we  took  him  along- 
side our  ship.  When  ships'  boats  in  company  take 
a  whale,  it  is  customary,  either  to  give  one  party  the 
head  and  the  body  to  the  other,  or  else  to  release 
the  ship  whose  boat  fastened  first  from  all  further 
trouble  with  the  prize :  her  companion  taking  the 
whale  alongside,  cutting  him  in,  trying  him  out,  and 
then  either  stowing  down,  or  rafting  half  the  oil  to 


FREIGHT-BUSINESS  —  BARQUE   IOWA.  847 

her  companion.  In  case  she  stows  it  down,  one-half 
of  the  barrels  are  branded  with  the  other  vessel's 
name,  and  credited  to  her  account.  In  the  present 
case,  Captain  Perkins  of  the  Plover  wishing  to  make 
through  us  a  consignment  to  the  owners,  we  took 
the  whale,  and  a  boat's  crew  of  his  assisted  us  to 
cut  in.  After  trying  out,  one-half  the  oil,  amounting 
to  forty-six  barrels,  was  stowed  between  decks  in 
casks  brought  from  his  ship  for  the  purpose  and  duly 
branded.  We  engaged  to  carry  it  home  as  freight, 
charging  six  cents  per  gallon  for  the  carriage.  We 
had  also  twelve  hundred  pounds  of  right  whalebone 
on  freight,  from  the  ship  Martha,  of  Fairhaven. 
This  freight-business  pays  no  one  but  the  owners, 
and  perhaps  the  captain :  the  proportion  of  it  that 
any  one  else  gets  being  so  small  as  to  make  it  a 
trifling  object. 

On  the  same  day  that  we  stowed,  we  gammoned 
the  barque  Iowa,  of  Fairhaven.  She  had  been  very 
successful,  having  filled  up  with  humpbacked  oil  at 
the  Rosemary  Islands.  She  was  but  a  short  time 
from  Mauritius,  and  brought  us  the  sad  news  of  the 
demise  of  John  Cunningham,  of  New  Bedford,  whom 
we  had  left  at  the  hospital  in  Mauritius.  The  cause 
of  his  death  was  to  some  degree  enveloped  in  mys- 
tery. It  appears  that  on  the  day  previous  to  his 
decease  he  applied  to  the  resident  physician  of  the 
hospital  for  a  discharge,  stating  as  his  reason  for  it 
the  many  deaths  that  were  daily  occurring  in  the 
same  ward  in  which  he  was  (the  dysentery  having 
assumed  a  fatal  type  just  after  our  leaving  the  port). 
The  physician  told  him  that  he  was  loath  to  dis- 
charge him  as  yet,  for  his  stricture  was  not  entirely 


348       DEATH  OF  yOUNG  CUNNINGHAM. 

removed ;  but,  after  some  urging  on  Cunningham's 
part,  the  doctor  directed  him  to  apply  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  and  he  would  make  out  his  discharge.  The 
morning  following  his  attendants  found  him  dead  in 
his  bed,  without  an  external  sign  to  show  why  the 
spirit  had  fled.  The  physicians,  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  so  sudden  and  unexpected  a  termination,  held  a 
post-mortem  examination  upon  his  body,  and  finding 
all  the  organs  free  from  disease,  they  gave  in  as 
their  opinion  that  he  had  died  from  fright.  Poor 
fellow!  —  his  health  aboard  ship  had  been  almost 
uninterruptedly  good,  and  he  bade  fair  to  live  as 
long  as  any  of  us.  But  Providence,  for  His  own  wise 
purposes,  saw  fit  to  call  him  away  from  life  to  (I 
trust)  a  better  and  happier  sphere ;  and  although  in 
this  world  he  will  no  more  hear  the  storm  whistling 
through  the  rigging,  or  the  sudden  boom  of  the  tem- 
pest-tossed ocean,  yet  I  hope  that  he 

"Shall  find  pleasant  weather, 
When  He  who  all  commands 
Shall  give,  to  call  Life's  crew  together, 
The  word  to  pipe  all  hands." 

This  young  man  was  the  eldest  son  of  a  widow  in 
New  Bedford.  His  father  was  for  years  engaged  in 
whaling,  and  some  eight  years  since,  whilst  master 
of  the  ship  Florida,  was  drowned  in  the  surf,  off'  the 
Island  of  Eorotongu,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  and 
now  his  poor  relict  is  called  upon  to  weep  over  the 
untimely  end  of  her  eldest  boy,  in  a  foreign  hos- 
pital, unattended  by  a  single  friend  to  soothe  his 
dying-pillow.  He  whom  she  looked  upon  as  the 
stay  of  her  declining  years,  like  her  husband,  en- 


A  REVIEW   OF   OUR   CONDITION.  840 

gaged  in  the  same  perilous  pursuit,  and  died  thou- 
sands of  miles  from  home,  under  painfully  afflicting 
circumstances. 

He  was  the  third  who  has  been  called  away  out  of 
our  bonnie  crew,  who  in  July,  1855,  sailed  from  l^ew 
Bedford  full  of  life  and  hope  :  all  at  that  date  feeling 
assured  of  returning  with  a  well  laden  ship  and  full 
crew — with  stores  of  curiosities,  gleaned  from  foreign 
ports,  as  keepsakes  for  the  loved  ones  at  home :  all 
"were  sanguiue,  and  certainly  expected  to  make  a 
good  voyage  and  return  by  July,  1858. 

But  "man  purposes  —  God  disposes;"  as  a  proof 
of  w^hich,  let  us  review  our  relative  positions  now, 
and  then.  One  of  our  men  was  discharged,  sick,  in 
King  George's  Sound;  from  thence  he  went  to  Mel- 
bourne, since  which  we  have  heard  of  his  death. 
Our  second  mate  was  discharged  at  Vasse,  went  home 
as  mate  of  the  barque  Pamelia,  and  is  now,  I  hope, 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  every  blessing,  surrounded 
by  an  affectionate  family.  Three  of  our  original 
number  deserted,  and  through  the  example  and  influ- 
ence of  evil-minded  associates,  allowed  themselves  to 
be  made  parties  to  the  origination  of  a  false  report, 
according  to  which  our  vessel  had  foundered  on  a 
tempestuous  night,  and  the  greater  number  of  the 
crew  set  afloat  in  open  boats  off*  the  inhospitable 
coast  of  New  Zealand.  Poor  John  Walters  has  ffone 
to  his  long  home !  the  blue  waves  of  the  South  Pa- 
cific having  closed  over  him  whilst  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty.  We  learn  from  the  Iowa's  report,  that 
another  one  of  our  original  crew,  whom  we  dis- 
charged at  Port  Louis,  has  shipped  aboard  the  barque 
Agnes,  of  Kew  York,  bound  to  Batavia  for  a  cargo, 
30 


350  FURTHER   NEWS    BY   THE   IOWA. 

thence  homeward.  And,  lastly,  Cunningham  too  is 
gone!  Whilst  we,  w^ho  are  left,  have  been  forty 
months  from  home,  and  are  still  battling  wdth  the 
ocean's  elements  —  alas!  in  pocket,  poor  indeed,  and 
hopefully  longing  for  home. 

We  also  learned  from  the  Iowa,  that  the  IS'ew 
Yorker,  whom  w^e  left  at  Port  Louis,  had  been  dis- 
charged from  the  Hospital,  perfectly  recovered  ;  and 
that  he,  together  w^ith  an  Irishman,  also  discharged 
there  by  us,  had  solicited  and  obtained  employment 
in  the  police-force  of  that  port. 

The  rest  of  those  whom  we  left  at  Port  Louis, 
never  having  done  anything  to  entitle  them  to  re- 
membrance, w^e  neither  know  nor  care  what  has  be- 
come of  them,  with  the  exception  of  our  late  fourth 
mate,  who  deserves  mention  singly  on  account  of  his 
utter  uselessness.  From  the  same  source,  we  learn  that 
he  shipped,  and  left  Mauritius  in  the  barque  Eagle, 
as  boatsteerer.  In  this  new  position  he  will,  no 
doubt,  act  with  about  as  much  credit  to  himself,  and 
receive  as  unenviable  a  name  and  reputation,  as  he 
did  among  us. 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  the  above  date  we 
saw  and  gammoned  the  barque  Coimbra.  She  had 
sailed  from  Mauritius  a  few  days  after  our  leaving; 
but,  owing  to  the  sickness  of  her  captain,  was  forced 
to  return,  and  remain  ten  additional  days.  The  cap- 
tain of  this  vessel,  quite  an  original,  hailed  from  ^ew 
Brunswick,  and  was  a  veritable  Blue  Kose  —  long, 
lank,  and  parsimonious.  He  has  had  during  the 
voyage  three  different  crews,  who  for  some  reason 
or  other  left  him  after  a  cruise  or  two.  Early  in  the 
voyage  a  veto  was  put  by  the  authorities  of  Yasse 


CONDUCT   OF   CAPTAIN   OF   THE   COIMBRA.  351 

upon  his  entering  any  port  on  the  coast  of  !N"ew  Hol- 
land, owing  to  his  having  carried  a  prisoner  away 
in  his  vessel.  This  prisoner,  who  was  a  thief,  doing 
a  good  business  at  Freemantle,  report  says,  paid  one 
thousand  dollars  for  the  accommodation.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  Columbus  had  little  or  no  trouble  with 
him  —  merely  carrying  him  outside,  and  then  trans- 
ferring him  to  a  merchant-ship.  Being  debarred 
from  entering  these  ports,  where  the  cost  of  re- 
cruiting ships  is  comparatively  trifling,  and  having 
kept  his  crew  out  of  port  as  long  as  a  wholesome 
dread  of  the  scurvy  would  allow,  he,  wdth  an  eye  to 
economy,  made  the  following  address  to  his  men, 
to  wit:  "Boys,  I  would  like  to  go  into  a  good  port, 
where  we  could  all  enjoy  ourselves.  Such  a  port  is 
Hobartown;  but  the  limits  set  to  my  expenses  by 
my  owners  will  not  allow  of  my  indulging  in  such 
an  outlay  as  lying  with  the  ship  in  that  harbor  would 
occasion ;  but,  if  you  by  subscription  pay  a  certain 
sum  apiece  out  of  your  earnings,  I  will  go  there." 
Several  of  the  ship's  company  assenting,  a  document 
was  drawn  up,  and  most  of  them  attached  their 
names:  agreeing  to  contribute  tow^ards  the  port- 
expenses  sums  varying  in  amount  from  two  to  twenty 
dollars.  One  of  the  foremast  hands  demurrins:  to 
this  arrangement,  the  old  fellow  told  him  that  he 
would  get  it  out  of  him  some  way  or  other;  and  so 
he  did,  by  persisting  in  tormenting  him  until  his 
victim  was  glad  to  pay  the  two  dollars,  and  thereby 
gain  somewhat  of  an  exemption  from  further  bad 
treatment. 

This  is  not  a  solitary  case  of  such  sharp  business- 
operations.     A  certain  captain  once  boasted  aboard 


352  SEND   LETTERS   HOME   BY  THE   COIMBRA. 

our  barque,  that  by  his  finesse  in  settling  with  those 
whom  he  discharged  in  Hobartown  he  had  made  the 
clear  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  for  his  owners ; 
in  other  words,  that  by  misrepresenting  the  quantity 
of  oil  taken,  he  had  cheated  his  crew  out  of  so 
much  money.  A  most  creditable  boast !  Of  a  piece 
with  such  conduct  was  also  his  mode  of  serving  out 
meat.  A  barrel  was  broken  out,  brought  on  deck,  and 
divided  into  so  many  portions  as  were  equivalent  to 
his  idea  of  a  day's  allowance  (which  was  about  one- 
third  of  that  prescribed  by  law).  It  was  then  tied 
together,  and  strung  up  on  deck ;  whence  if  a  rem- 
nant of  it  disappeared,  it  was  charged  to  the  steward 
and  cook. 

We  saw  the  vessel  under  the  last-mentioned  indi- 
vidual's command  on  the  first  day  of  December.  She 
was  then  bound  home,  and  had  but  ten  barrels  of 
meat  aboard  for  the  consumption  of  the  crew  during 
the  passage,  which,  as  she  had  been  out  about  four 
years,  will  consume  at  least  ninety  days.  This  quan- 
tity of  meat  would  last  us  with  the  same  number  in 
the  ship's  company  as  she  has,  but  thirty  days.  For 
such  conduct  this  man  could  not  plead  non-success, 
as  he  had  on  board  one  of  the  best  cargoes  on  the 
ocean  —  his  quantity  of  oil  being  no  less  than  two 
thousand  barrels,  of  which  sixteen  hundred  contained 
sperm  oil. 

On  learning  that  the  Coimbra  was  bound  direct 
for  home,  several  of  us  put  letters  aboard  of  her,  and 
as  she  kept  off*  and  receded  from  our  sight  we  natu- 
rally wished  that  w^e  were  pursuing  a  course  in  the 
same  direction,  and  w^ere  agreeably  astonished  the 
next  morning  (December  5th)  to  find  our  captain 


A  whaler's  coxdition  after  a  cruise.      353 

keep  off  to  the  southward,  and  learned  that  we  were 
bound  round  the  Cape.  In  the  afternoon  we  saw 
the  Coimbra,  overhauled  and  passed  her;  our  stud- 
ding-sails giving  us  a  great  advantage  over  her  when 
the  wind  is  free.  The  following  da}^  in  order  to 
compete  with  us,  she  made  and  bent  studding-sails ; 
but  this  was  as  far  as  she  could  go,  and  we  were  still 
to  windward  of  her,  as  we  had  made  and  bent  mizzen, 
maintopmast,  and  maintopgallant  staysails,  which 
gave  us  a  slight  advantage. 

On  account  of  the  length  of  time,  and  the  chafing 
of  whales  alongside  and  under  the  ship,  the  copper 
was  in  a  desperate  condition.  Looking  at  her  bottom, 
when  the  sea  was  calm  and  clear,  nothing  could  be  seen 
but  an  irregular  bunch  of  vegetable  matter;  looking, 
from  her  waterways  to  the  kelson,  as  much  like  a 
collection  of  old  rags,  as  anything  else  that  I  could 
compare  it  to,  whilst  in  many  places  whole  sheets  of 
copper  were  gone,  and  in  others  it  was  rolled  up  in 
scrolls.  I  hooked  up  a  piece,  and,  on  examination, 
found  it  of  an  almost  transparent  thinness.  All 
these  inequalities  in  the  surface  of  the  bottom  natu- 
rally tended  to  retard  the  speed ;  and,  consequently, 
when  whalers  start  for  home,  they  strive  to  make 
amends  for  all  deficiences  by  a  greater  spread  of 
canvass,  and  venture  to  carry  it  longer  than  any 
other  class  of  vessels  afloat,  relying  on  the  number 
and  skill  of  their  men  to  prevent  disaster  in  time  of 
emergency. 

We  kept  on  with  a  light  fair  wind  to  the  south- 
ward and  eastward  for  some  days,  and,  from  the 
agreeableness  of  the  weather,  augured  a  pleasant 
passage  around ;  but  when  opposite  Cape  I'Agulhas 
30*  X 


854  A   LEAF   FROM   A  LOG-BOOK. 

the  wind  hauled  ahead,  and  we  had  it  first  light  and 
clear,  then  strong  and  cloudy,  with  showers  of  rain 
and  thick  fog.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  imagine 
that  sailors  have  but  little  to  do  when  afloat,  I  will 
copy  from  my  log-book  the  proceedings  of  several 
days  (whilst  in  this  bafiiing  weather),  verbatim  et 
literatum. 

December  Wtk.  —  This  day  opens  with  a  strong 
breeze  from  the  eastward,  cloudy.  At  midnight 
running  before  it,  with  maintopgallant  sail,  fore,  and 
foretopraast  studding  sails  set.  At  1  o'clock  A.  M. 
the  breeze  increasing  to  a  gale,  we  took  in  the  stud- 
dingsails  and  topgallantsail;  at  three,  double-reefed 
the  topsails ;  at  6  A.  M.  the  wind  hauling  forward, 
loosed  and  set  the  mainsail ;  at  8,  were  obliged  to 
furl  it ;  at  9,  shook  a  reef  out  of  each  topsail,  and 
set  jib,  spanker,  and  mainsail ;  at  11,  the  wind  hauled 
to  the  S.  S.  W.,  clewed  down  the  topsails  and  close- 
reefed  them  —  thus  remained  for  the  balance  of 
the  day. 

December  11th.  —  At  1  A.  M.  shook  a  reef  out  of 
each  topsail ;  at  4J,  struck  by  a  squall  that  hove  her 
down  rail  to,  hauled  up  the  courses,  kept  the  ship 
off  to  haul  down  the  jib,  which  was  done,  and  furled 
the  sail ;  then  furled  the  spanker,  lufied  to,  close-reefed 
the  topsails  and  furled  the  mainsail  amid  torrents  of 
rain ;  at  3  P.  M.  furled  the  foretopsail ;  at  6  P.  M., 
after  having  shipped  a  sea  that  filled  it  full,  took  in 
the  bowboat ;  at  6 J,  furled  the  foresail ;  at  7,  clewed 
down  the  maintopsail,  shook  out  the  reefs  and  reefed 
it  over ;  at  7J,  loosed  the  foretopsail,  shook  out  the 
reefs,  reefed  it  over,  sheeted  it  home  and  set  it. 

December  ISth.  —  At  1 J  A.  M.,  furled  foretopsail ; 


A  seaman's  employment.  355 

at  4,  set  close-reefed  foretopsail  and  foresail ;  at  7, 
made  all  sail ;  at  3  P.  M.,  furled  the  light  sails,  and 
double-reefed  the  foretopsail ;  at  7  P.  M.,  shook  the 
reefs  out,  and  set  the  flying-jib  and  maintopgallant- 
sail ;  at  10,  furled  the  light  sails  and  double-reefed 
the  foretopsail,  and  at  midnight  double-reefed  the 
maintopsail. 

Here  was  work  enough  for  three  days,  and  hard 
work,  as  any  one  may  discover,  who  doubts  the  fact, 
by,  like  me,  participating  in  it ;  but  handling,  reef- 
ing, and  steering,  are  by  no  means  all  the  employ- 
ments of  the  seamen  when  afloat.  Everything  being 
kept  taut,  the  strain  on  the  rigging,  in  heavy  weather, 
is  tremendous,  so  that  some  little  thing  or  other  always 
needs  repair;  and  in  fine  weather  the  sailor  is  sent 
with  his  marlinespike,  slush,  and  tar-bucket,  into  the 
rigging,  where  he  not  unusually  stays  a  whole  watch, 
busily  employed  in  putting  a  seizing  here,  or  seizing 
on  a  ratline  there,  repairing  the  service,  or  other 
chafing  gear.  These,  with  other  duties  of  a  like 
description,  keep  a  merchantman's  crew  continually 
on  the  move ;  but  where  there  are  so  many,  as  with 
us,  the  labors  are  performed  without  making  the  task 
irksome  to  any. 

Wishing,  in  doubling  the  Cape,  to  near  the  land, 
so  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  westerly  curi'ent 
(which  here  is  said  to  run  with  a  speed  of  four  knots 
hourly),  we  done  all  we  could  to  hang  on ;  but  the 
wind  forbade  us  arriving  at  this  desired  position ;  and 
as  w^e  drifted  considerably  to  the  southward,  we  were 
two  degrees  from  Table  Mountain  on  the  21st,  when, 
with  a  fair  wind  and  plenty  of  it,  a  clear  sky  and 
smooth  sea,  without  let  or  hindrance,  we  passed  into 


856  LEAVING   THE   INDIAN   OCEAN. 

the  blue  waters  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  just  three  years, 
two  months,  and  eleven  days  from  the  time  we  passed 
from  it  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  with  a  prospect  of 
three  years  whaling  before  us  ;  all  buoyant  with  hope, 
and  not  a  doubt  entering  the  thoughts  of  any  that,  by 
the  time  we  were  thus  far  on  our  return  passage,  we 
should  be  full  of  oil.  But  it  is  needless  to  say  that 
such  is  far  from  being  the  case. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  we  left  the  Indian 
Ocean,  whose  broad  bosom  was  our  home  for  so 
many  months,  with  any  regret.  Indeed,  there  was 
little  to  endear  it  to  the  remembrance  of  any  one 
who  ever  experienced  its  changeable  and  heavy 
weather,  and  who  has  been  obliged  to  visit  its  miser- 
able ports.  We  have  had  a  pretty  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  it,  having  navigated  its  entire  length,  and 
cruised,  day  after  day,  in  its  waters,  from  latitude  8° 
to  42°  south. 

After  entering  the  Atlantic  Ocean  we  steered  to 
the  northward  and  westward,  until  we  arrived  in 
latitude  32°  south,  longitude  7°  east.  This  locality  is 
known  as  the  Carroll  ground,  and  is  a  favorite  resort 
of  the  South  Atlantic  whalemen.  Here,  as  we  had 
good  weather,  but  saw  no  whales,  all  hands  were 
occupied  in  repairing  and  renewing  the  rigging,  to 
get  the  ship  in  order  for  a  return  home.  It  is  a 
great  point  of  honor  among  seamen  to  return  their 
rigging  in  as  good,  if  not  better  order  than  when 
they  received  it,  with  a  view  to  commendation  from 
their  owners;  consequently  the  lower  rigging  was 
turned  in  anew,  particular  care  being  taken  to  have 
everything  as  nice  as  possible:  blocks  must  be  new- 
strapped,  and  neatly  covered  with  canvas;  all  ser- 


MALADY   AFFLICTING   A   CREW.  357 

vice  that  looked  in  the  least  chafed,  or  white,  must  be 
removed;  the  yards  stripped  and  rigging-fitted;  the 
ratlines  taken  off  the  mizzen  topmast  and  foretopgal- 
lant  rigging ;  the  rigging  fore  and  aft,  alow  and  aloft, 
must  be  rattled  down,  and  a  coat  of  tar  then  applied 
to  all  the  hemp  material ;  the  paint-work,  inside  and 
out,  from  the  copper  to  the  trucks  must  be  renewed, 
and  the  spars  scraped:  then  we  will  be  ready  for 
home.  All  this  must  be  done  before  the  27th  of 
Januaiy,  at  which  time  we  are  to  leave  the  whaling- 
ground  ;  so  that  we  will  have  nothing  to  occupy  U3 
after  that  date,  except  to  make  as  speedy  a  passage 
as  possible  to  ]N"ew  Bedford. 

On  the  Carroll  ground  we  entered  upon  the  New 
Year.  On  the  4th  of  January  we  gammoned  the 
ship  Messenger,  of  l!^ew  Bedford.  She  left  the  Ma- 
dagascar ground  four  days  after  us,  and  had  been 
boxing  off  the  Cape  for  twenty-one  days;  so  that 
we  esteemed  ourselves  fortunate  in  having  escaped 
such  miserable  weather  with  no  further  detention 
than  we  experienced.  Her  crew  were  afi:ected  by  a 
peculiar  malady,  which  somewhat  resembled  moon- 
blindness  :  more  or  less  of  them  had  been  affected 
with  it  during  the  whole  voyage ;  and  at  the  present 
time  there  were  eight  men  in  her  forecastle  who  could 
not  see  each  other  after  dark,  but  whose  vision  during 
the  day  was  perfectly  good  and  clear.  One  of  them 
whilst  aboard  of  our  vessel  complained  of  pain  across 
the  temples  in  the  daytime.  He  was  the  only  one 
of  those  afiiicted  who  expressed  a  sense  of  pain  or 
inconvenience,  apart  from  loss  of  sight.  I  have  seen 
individual  cases  before,  but  never  in  such  numbers 
aboard  a  single  ship.     Their  captain  attributed  it  to 


358  CAUSE   AND   TREATMENT   OF   DISEASE. 

moon-blindness ;  but  these  men  positively  assured 
me  that  they  had  not  slept  with  their  faces  exposed 
to  the  moon's  rays.  Again,  it  disappeared  on  their 
near  approach  to  land ;  and  at  one  time  they  were 
completely  relieved  of  it  by  the  use  of  Irish  pota- 
toes. The  men  themselves  attributed  the  malady 
either  to  the  tarrae  root,  of  which  they  had  consumed 
a  large  quantity  on  the  voyage,  or  else  to  their  water, 
which,  as  the}^  stated,  had  been  for  a  long  time 
brackish  and  unwholesome.  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  it  originated  from  the  bilge-water;  for  a  similar 
case  from  this  cause  came  under  my  notice  some 
years  since. 

Whilst  amongst  the  Abrolhas',  I  was  called  upon 
by  the  captain  of  the  Europa  to  administer  to  a  Por- 
tuguese, whose  eyes  were  affected  by  sleeping  in  the 
moon's  rays.  I  bled  him,  and  applied  blisters  to  the 
temples.  This  treatment  produced  almost  instan- 
taneous relief.  I  informed  the  Messenger's  people 
of  this ;  but  their  captain  was  one  of  the  old  school, 
who  believing  that  all  the  ailments  mankind  are  heir  to 
can  be  cured  by  salts,  would  employ  no  other  remedy; 
and,  w^hether  the  disease  was  a  cold,  a  fever  from  a 
broken  or  dislocated  member,  or  what  not,  his  pre- 
scription was  a  full  dose  of  it,  whereof  he  constantly 
kept  a  large  quantity  on  hand,  of  the  denomination 
known  as  Glauber  salts,  used  ashore  for  horses. 

On  the  16th  we  gammoned  with  the  ship  Mary, 
of  New  Bedford.  Her  captain  requested  me  to  go 
aboard  of  her,  and  administer  to  her  cooper,  who  had 
for  a  long  time  been  very  sick.  In  compliance  with 
his  request  I  did  so.  In  her  steerage  I  found  the 
wreck  of  an  unusually  symmetrically-formed  man, 


YARNS    OF   AN   OLD    SEAMAN.  359 

sufFerinsr  from  an  affection  of  the  liver.  I  did  what 
I  could  for  him ;  but  then,  as  the  boat  would  not  re- 
turn to  our  ship  for  several  hours,  I  began  to  fear 
that  the  time  would  pass  tediously.  My  apprehen- 
sion, however,  was  speedily  banished  by  the  attention 
I  found  myself  compelled  to  give  to  the  yarns  of  my 
patient,  who,  like  all  old  seamen,  was  garrulous; 
and,  as  I  was  a  good  listener,  (of  which  I  pride  my- 
self,) he  was  soon  rehearsing  his  manifold  adventures 
from  his  youth  upwards,  embracing  forty -five  years  of 
sea  life.  He  told  me,  that  daring  this  time  he  had 
served  in  every  situation  aboard  a  whaler,  from  cabin- 
boy  to  master;  and  he  mentioned  some  half-a-dozen 
well-known  whaling  captains  who  had  served  their 
novitiate  in  his  boat.  He  stated,  that  during  the 
South  American  revolutions  he  had  been  privateer- 
ing, and  was  for  many  years  in  both  the  naval  and 
merchant  service.  He  had  visited  almost  every 
country  of  the  globe  to  which  commerce  directs  her 
conveyances:  at  times  (to  use  his  own  expression) 
flush,  with  plent}^  of  money ;  at  others,  alone,  with- 
out a  change  of  clothing,  amongst  semi-civilized  na- 
tions. He  was  a  grandfather;  and  stated,  that  hia 
first  wife,  with  whom  he  had  lived  for  many  years, 
had  taken  umbrage  at  his  assuming  the  sailor's 
privilege  of  having  a  wife  in  every  port,  and  left  him. 
After  the  legal  forms  had  been  gone  through  with, 
she  consoled  herself  by  taking  another  spouse. 

Her  husband,  not  to  be  a  whit  behind  her,  took 
his  ship  home  again,  sailed  to  the  island  of  New 
Zealand,  and  in  Mungunui  married  an  English  girl, 
twenty  years  his  junior.  He  then  engaged  in  the 
English   whaling-service,  w^herein   he   accumulated 


360  PHASES   OF  A   sailor's   LIFE. 

considerable  money,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years 
returned  to  the  States,  taking  his  wife  and  their  two 
children  with  him.  At  home,  he  for  some  years 
rested  ;  but  the  continual  yearning  for  the  sea  expe- 
rienced by  all  who  have  once  been  afloat,  and  not 
been  disgusted  with  life  thereon,  induced  him,  in  his 
old  age,  to  ship  as  cooper  of  the  Mary.  No  sooner 
was  he  afloat,  however,  than  on  exerting  himself  he 
found  that  his  w^as  not  now  a  system  such  as  that 
which  had  carried  him  through  so  many  years  of 
hardship  and  exposure.  Fast  living  and  imprudence 
had  done  their  w^ork,  and  bis  constitution  was  gone. 
The  bracing  sea-air,  instead  of  invigorating,  depressed 
and  weakened  him.  Dispirited,  he  was  at  last  laid 
up,  like  a  worn-out  hulk,  without  power  or  will  to 
be  engaged  in  aught  but  the  most  puerile  employ- 
ments. During  his  stay  aboard  the  Mary  (rather 
over  two  years)  he  had  not  heard  from  home ;  and, 
being  very  ingenious,  he  had,  to  occupy  his  mind 
and  drive  away  heart-sickness,  employed  himself  by 
scrimschawing,  and  had  completed  a  store  of  unique 
and  carefully-fabricated  articles  of  various  descrip- 
tions, from  woods  he  procured  in  the  diflferent  ports 
he  had  visited,  or  from  ivory  and  bone. 

The  boat  being  now  ready  to  return,  I  left  the 
narrator,  and  went  aboard  our  own  ship.  I  informed 
the  captain  that  he  must  send  him  into  the  nearest 
port,  (St.  Helena,)  where  he  might  procure  rest  and 
good  medical  treatment.  This  he  thought  inexpe- 
dient; but,  by  dint  of  pressing,  I  convinced  him  of 
the  absolute  necessity  of  such  a  course.  After  carry- 
ing my  point,  I  had  the  curiosity  to  ask  him  about 
the  cooper's  antecedents ;  because  I  had  not  given 


LAMENTABLE   END   OF  A  BAD   CAREER.  361 

full  credence  to  all  his  story,  inasmuch  as  old  sailors 
are  so  famous  for  drawing  a  long  bow.  The  captain 
gave  me  a  rehearsal  of  his  past  life,  which  fully  sub- 
stantiated all  that  he  had  said  of  himself;  and,  after 
he  had  finished  it,  I  left  him,  with  the  conviction 
that  I  had  seen  the  most  practical  illustration  pos- 
sible of  a  career  at  sea,  where  Christianity  or  morality 
had  not  held  the  helm.  Here  was  a  man,  who  had 
made  much  more  than  a  competency  during  life,  and 
w^ho  had  w^alked  his  own  quarter-deck,  after  having 
gained  his  position  by  his  own  unaided  personal 
exertion,  reduced  at  the  end  of  a  life-time  of  battling 
with  the  elements  to  a  subordinate  station  —  sick, 
debilitated,  and  uncared-for  —  aged,  weak,  and  care- 
worn —  far  away  from  home,  without  the  fostering 
attentions  of  a  wife  or  children  to  render  the  couch  of 
sickness  other  than  a  bed  of  thorns ;  and  this  lamen- 
table situation  brought  on,  not  by  the  villany  or  mis- 
management of  others,  but,  according  to  his  own 
confession,  by  his  individual  imprudence. 

The  Mary,  like  the  Messenger,  had  on  board  some 
half-a-dozen  persons  whose  eyes  were  affected  mys- 
teriously. She  w^as  down  by  the  head,  and  had 
(as  was  also  the  case  with  the  Messenger)  been  so 
trimmed  on  the  whole  voyage,  which  trim  facilitates 
the  collection  of  putrid  water  in  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship's  hold ;  hence,  by  taking  into  consideration 
these  singular  coincidents  of  the  vessels,  together 
with  the  fact  that  no  one  who  lived  abaft  the  main- 
mast had  been  so  affected  in  either,  the  disease  may, 
I  think,  be  safely  attributed  to  bilge-water. 

After  gammoning  with  the  Mary,  we  ran  close  in 
to  the  African  coast,  and  fell  in  wdth  several  Atlantic 
31 


862       WHALING-CRAFT  ON  WEST  COAST  OF  AFRICA. 

whaling-vessels.  These  crafts  are  usually  small,  and 
carry  but  two  or  three  boats.  By  the  class  who  go 
farther  from  home,  they  are  facetiously  denominated 
Plumpuddingers.  The  length  of  the  voyage  ranges 
from  six  to  thirty  months.  From  the  specimens  of 
these  cruisers,  I  should  say,  that  there  is  little  differ- 
ence in  their  arrangements  and  those  of  the  whalemen 
of  the  Indian  and  Pacific  oceans.  One  characteristic 
was,  however,  distinctive;  that  is,  the  greater  pro- 
portion of  foreigners  before  the  mast.  In  one  vessel 
(the  Cornelia  of  Edgartown)  there  was  not  a  single 
individual  of  American  birth  in  her  forecastle ;  and 
on  board  the  Keoka,  of  Westport,  there  was  a  large 
proportion  of  dark  skins  from  the  islands  of  the 
!N^orth  Pacific.  Their  voyages  are  shorter,  their  crews 
generally  fare  better  than  those  of  the  larger  ships, 
and,  as  was  my  impression  up  to  the  time  we  fell  in 
w^ith  them,  they  made  better  ports  —  but  this,  upon 
inquiry,  I  found  to  be  a  mistaken  idea ;  for  those  on 
board  the  Keoka  stated  that  they  had  not  been  into 
a  port  where  English  w^as  spoken  during  the  w^hole 
time  (some  eighteen  months)  they  were  from  home ; 
and,  furthermore,  that  they  had  only  visited  Wal- 
fisch  Bay,  a  Portuguese  settlement  on  the  coast. 

These  vessels  averaged  about  the  same  amount  of 
oil,  considering  their  time  out,  as  other  ships  of  their 
profession  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  Their  crews  were, 
also,  just  as  much  discontented  with  whaling,  and 
as  anxious  to  get  home,  as  we  were.  In  unqualified 
terms  they  expressed  their  envy  of  us  lucky  fellows, 
as  they  termed  us,  who  they  supposed  would  in  a 
few  months  be  in  'New  Bedford.  Our  diminutive 
cargo  did  not  seem  to  act  as  a  damper  upon  their 


ANOTHER   STOPPAGE  AND   DISAPPOINTMENT.       363 

wishes.  They  said  that  they  did  not  care,  when  it 
came  to  the  question  of  getting  home,  whether  they 
had  anything  coming  to  them,  or  not.  Neither  did 
the  prospect  of  cold  weather  appal  them ;  for  one 
enthusiastic  fellow  assured  me,  that  he  was  willing 
to  be  h\nded  on  a  snow-bank,  in  a  costume  but  little 
preferable  to  a  straw-hat  without  trimming,  for  the 
sake  of  being  delivered  from  the  monotonous  life  he 
was  now  leading. 

After  leaving  these  vessels,  we  squared  our  yards, 
and  rolled  before  the  delightful  southeast  trades  (the 
elj^siura  of  the  seafaring-man)  towards  St.  Helena, 
taking  it  very  easy — only  sending  aloft  the  studding- 
sails  on  the  foremast  and  foretopmasts,  and  at  night 
jogging  along  under  easj^  sail  in  that  direction :  it 
being  our  intention  to  make  a  short  stay  at  that 
rock-bound  isle  for  letters,  and  then  to  crack  on 
everything  for  home. 

On  arriving  within  a  few  degrees  of  the  world- 
renowned  prison-rock  of  the  great  Conqueror,  sail 
was  reduced,  and  the  ship  lufted  to  the  wind.  The 
moon  being  on  the  change,  our  captain,  anxious  to 
get  one  more  sperm  whale,  determined  to  let  no 
means  within  his  power  remain  unemploj^ed  for  that 
purpose. 

This  halt  in  our  homeward  course  was  not  received 
with  a  very  good  grace.  Except  the  captain,  ever}^- 
body  else  aboard  our  vessel  had  calculated  upon  a 
direct  passage  homeward.  Bat  this  was  in  perfect 
keeping  with  his  conduct  throughout  the  voyage : 
at  one  time  assuring  us  that  we  would  be  bound 
homeward  on  a  certain  date,  and  inducing  us  to 
write  to  that  effect  by  his  representations,  in  which 


364  IRRESOLUTION   OF   OUR   CAPTAIN. 

at  the  time  of  making  them  he  was  perhaps  sincere. 
But  he  suffered  his  opinions  to  be  changed  by  the 
slightest  cause.  If  he  gammoned  with  a  ship,  he 
found  in  her  skipper  an  adviser,  who  recommended 
to  him  a  prolific  whaling-ground  —  one  on  which, 
he  was  told,  he  could  not  fail  to  take  five  hundred 
barrels  of  oil,  probably,  even  altogether  fill  up. 
These  golden  visions  he  received  and  credited,  (al- 
though I  cannot  but  think  that  it  was  against  his 
better  judgment  —  for,  certainly,  if  a  vacillating,  he 
was  not  a  stupid  man,)  and  away  he  would  go  to 
the  promised  El  Dorado.  Thus  he  exhausted  his  own 
as  well  as  the  patience  of  every  one  else  by  a  fruit- 
less search  for  sperm  whales  that  had  been  long  ago 
captured ! 

Where  we  were  now  stopping  was  the  ground  on 
which  the  barque  Monmouth,  two  years  since,  cap- 
tured two  hundred  barrels  of  oil;  and  hence  our 
captain  imagined  that  we  would  be  likely  to  do  the 
same ;  but  in  this  there  was  about  as  much  proba- 
bility of  any  success  and  remuneration  at  all  com- 
mensurate to  the  time  and  trouble  expended,  as  the 
Xidd  treasure  seekers  have  received  for  their  labori- 
ous and  chimerical  search. 

Under  such  phases  of  affairs,  I  have  written  some 
half-dozen  different  times,  stating  to  those  whom  I 
addressed  that  I  would  certainly  be  home  at  the 
periods  that  had  been  severally  and  distinctly  deter- 
mined on.  Some  of  these  letters  bore  the  date  of 
August,  1858 ;  and  I  do  not  know  but  that  those  who 
received  them  may  have  set  down  such  disparities 
to  wilful  misrepresentations,  or  a  sickening  anxiety 
on  my  part  to  get  home,  leading  me  to  believe  in 


UNCERTAINTY  OF  PERIOD  OF  OUR  RETURN.  6bb 

an  early  return,  because  it  was  so  much  the  more 
desirable,  and  in  accordance  with  my  hourly  wishes. 
But  such,  I  can  safely  say,  was  not  the  case ;  for 
even  now,  at  the  present  writing,  (January  31st, 
1859,)  I  cannot,  neither  can  any  other  in  the  ship 
except  the  captain  —  all  assurances  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding  —  set  a  time,  which  they  can  firmly 
believe  themselves  will  be  that  at  which  we  sball 
really  start  for  home.  So,  I  must  be  absolved  from 
the  charge  of  writing  at  random ;  and  the  blame 
must  rest,  where  it  should :  upon  the  captain's  waver- 
ing, and  his  being  so  easily  influenced  by  others. 


31* 


366  THE   ISLE   OP   ST.  HELENA. 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

At  daylight,  February  1st,  we  hove  in  sight  of  the 
Isle  of  St.  Helena,  the  world-renowned  prison-rock 
of  l!Tapoleon  Bonaparte,  the  conqueror  of  Europe. 
At  a  distance,  this  isle  looked  not  unlike  other  isles, 
despite  its  notoriety.  As  we  approached  nearer,  we 
found  it  distinctive  in  all  its  features :  high,  frown- 
ing, and  almost  barren.  A  strange  thing,  this,  for 
so  low  a  latitude,  within  the  tropics,  where  IN'ature 
dons  her  greenest  garment,  and  smiles  her  sunniest 
smile :  spreading  rich  and  plentiful  productions  over 
the  earth's  surface.  On  approaching  still  nearer,  we 
found  fortifications  erected,  which,  as  far  as  I  am 
able  to  judge,  make  the  island  impregnable;  though 
what  enemy  would  care  to  take  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  an  expedition  against  so  worthless  an 
object,  I  cannot  imagine.  After  passing  this  chain 
of  fortifications,  Rupert's  Yalley  gradually  developed 
itself  to  our  sight,  and  ensconced  on  its  narrow  bosom 
we  saw  the  cit}^  of  Jamestown.  From  the  water  this 
town  presents  quite  a  creditable  appearance.  The 
buildings  being  of  stone,  and  many  of  them  of  goodly 
size,  give  an  air  of  solidity  and  respectability  to  it, 
which  I  for  one  did  not  expect  to  find.  On  the  right 
of  the  town,  viewed  from  the  sea,  is  the  far-famed 
Jacob's  Ladder,  consisting  of  I  do  not  know  how 
many  steps,  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock,  which  afibrds 


FOOLHARDINESS   OF  AN   ENGLISH   SEAMAN.         367 

the  only  means  of  ingress  and  egress  to  the  garrison 
occupying  a  fort  at  the  summit  of  the  elevation. 
There  is  only  a  single  narrow  street  laid  out  in  the 
town  —  the  narrowness  of  the  valley  not  admitting 
of  any  farther  expansion.  On  the  sides  of  the  accli- 
vities are  stone-walls,  built  for  the  purposes  of  travel. 
They  are  wide,  and  admit  of  the  passage  of  a  vehicle 
upon  them ;  but  a  misstep  will  entail  upon  the  un- 
fortunate wight  who  should  make  it  certain  death, 
as  it  would  precipitate  him  into  an  abyss  hundreds 
of  feet  in  depth.  Shortly  before  our  arrival  an  Eng- 
lish seaman  on  liberty,  who  had  been  carousing,  was 
suddenly  seized  with  the  whim  of  drinking  his  brandy 
on  one  of  these  airy  places.  In  pursuance  of  this 
phantasy,  he  procured  a  bottle  of  spirits,  and,  seat- 
ing himself  on  the  ledge  of  the  wall,  with  his  feet 
suspended  over  the  chasm,  he  was  enjoying  his 
brandy  and  his  position  to  his  entire  satisfaction. 
He  could  not  be  removed  by  force,  as  such  a  pro- 
ceeding would  be  productive  of  imminent  danger  to 
him  and  his  rescuers,  and  as  he  was  proof  against 
persuasion,  his  shipmates  were  constrained  to  allow 
him  to  remain  in  his  perilous  position,  trusting  for 
his  presers^ation  in  Providence,  who  assists  the  sea- 
man out  of  so  many  difficulties  and  dangers.  For 
a  time  he  did  very  well,  and  maintained  an  upright, 
and  consequently  a  safe  position ;  but,  as  the  spirits 
he  had  imbibed  began  to  operate,  his  body  swa3'ed 
to  and  fro,  and  finally,  whilst  about  to  take  another 
drink  from  his  bottle,  he  lost  his  balance,  and  was 
precipitated  down,  far  down,  upon  the  jagged  rocks; 
from  whence  his  body  was  taken,  mangled  almost 
out  of  the  semblance  of  humanity. 


368  A  LEAKY  VESSEL. 

There  is  no  harbor  here  —  ships  anchoring  in  an 
open  seaway  unprotected  from  the  winds;  but  as, 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  this  latitude  is 
only  visited  by  the  south-east  trade  wind,  a  ship  may 
lay  in  this  exposed  position  w^ith  impunity.  Some 
twenty  vessels  lay  at  anchor,  three  of  which  flew  the 
stars  and  stripes ;  one  of  these  was  the  Messenger, 
whose  crew  was  ashore  on  liberty ;  another  was  the 
ship  Thomas  Glover,  of  Boston,  bound  home  in  a 
few  days.  The  third,  a  barque,  whose  name  I  did 
not  learn,  was  in  an  extremely  leaky  condition,  and 
her  captain,  not  wishing  to  have  her  condemned 
here,  was  offering  one  hundred  dollars  bounty,  and 
twenty-five  dollars  per  month  for  each  man  who 
would  ship  aboard  to  work  her  home ;  but  if  anything 
else  offers  Jack  Tar  is  shy  about  engaging  himself 
aboard  a  leaky  ship,  where  the  pumps  are  to  be  kept 
constantly  going,  day  and  night,  and,  as  her  semi- 
water-logged  condition  renders  her  unsafe  to  carry  a 
press  of  canvass  on,  the  probability  is  that  a  passage 
in  her  will  be  an  extended  one.  Then  by  the  time 
she  would  get  on  our  coast,  heavy  weather  might  be 
looked  for,  and  it,  united  with  her  leaky  condition, 
would  render  her  anything  but  a  comfortable  craft. 

The  other  vessels  were  English,  French,  Swedish, 
and  Dutch.  Inside  of  all  lay  a  number  of  condemned 
vessels,  amongst  them  was  the  barque  Ann,  of  Sag 
Harbor,  the  same  vessel  we  w^ere  in  company  with 
whilst  engaged  in  whaling  on  the  coast  of  ]^ew  Hol- 
land. After  w^e  left  her  she  proceeded  to  Desolation, 
where,  from  heavy  weather,  she  received  severe 
damages,  and,  on  arriving  at  St.  Helena,  a  survey 
was  had  upon  her  and  she  was  condemned.     The 


EXPECTED   LETTERS.  360 

other  condemned  vessels  lying  here  are,  for  the  most 
part,  slavers,  captured  on  the  coast  of  Africa  by  the 
British  squadron. 

It  not  being  our  intention  to  smake  any  stay  hero, 
"without  there  was  sufficient  freight  for  home  to  mako 
it  an  inducement  for  us  so  to  do,  we  did  not  anchor, 
but  stood  off  and  on  shore  on  alternate  tacks.  The 
captain  lowered  away,  taking  with  him  the  men 
who  came  aboard  without  an  agreement  at  Port 
Louis,  for  the  purpose  of  shipping  them  before  the 
American  consul.  His  principal  object,  however, 
was  to  get  letters,  which  we  had  directed  to  be  sent 
here  in  numberless  missives  written  many  miles  to 
the  westward,  and  on  this  account  St.  Helena  has 
been,  for  months,  the  wished-for  port.  Everybody 
expecting  consecutive  letters  filling  up  the  void  of 
the  last  eighteen  months,  since  which  time  none  of 
us  have  received  news  of  our  families  and  friends, 
and,  from  the  many  dolorous  accounts  we  have 
heard  of  the  financial  afiairs  of  the  country,  everyone 
is  interested  to  know  what  bearing  such  a  crisis 
had  had  upon  his  connections ;  hence  our  anxiety. 
After  many  injunctions  to  send  the  boat  off  that  night, 
the  captain  departed.  We  patiently  waited  until 
sundown,  when,  no  boat  approaching,  we  began  to 
be  uneasy.  An  hour  later,  we  were  chafing,  almost 
the  whole  crew  were  walking  decks  in  an  excited, 
uneasy  manner;  and,  although  they  did  not  curse  the 
old  man,  they  invoked  anything  but  blessings  upon 
his  head,  innocent  though  he  was.  Next  morning, 
when  the  boat  arrived,  we  found  that  from  some 
misconception  of  orders,  we  should  have  stood  in, 
when  we  stood  ofi*,  shore;   and,  consequently,  the 


370  LETTERS   RECEIVED. 

third  mate  was  kept  chasing  us  in  his  boat  from 
nightfall  until  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when, 
giving  up  the  pursuit  as  hopeless,  he  went  aboard  the 
Messenger,  and,  with  his  wearied  crew,  turned  in. 

On  the  letters  being  brought  forth,  I  found  that  I 
had  four;  one  of  August,  1855,  left  here  by  a  ship 
that  had  carried  it  about  the  ocean  for  years  — 
the  other  three  were  of  May,  July,  and  November, 
1858  ;  this  last  was  inexpressibly  welcome  to  me,  as 
it  brougVit  everything  down  to  a  comparatively  late 
date,  assuring  me  of  a  warm  welcome  home  when- 
ever I  did  arrive.  Of  this,  however  unworthy,  I  had 
never  doubted ;  but  it  is  a  weakness  of  our  nature 
to  take  delight  in  the  rehearsal  of  pleasant  facts. 
The  chief  topic  of  interest,  after  being  assured  of  the 
welfare  of  my  connections,  and  one  that  astonished 
and,  to  some  extent,  perplexed  me,  was  the  birth  of 
a  niece,  a  child  of  my  younger  brother.  This  was 
the  first  intelligence  I  had  of  his  marriage,  which, 
however,  was  not  unexpected ;  I  had  looked  forward 
to  it  as  a  matter  of  course ;  but  that  he  should  be 
blessed  with  issue  ere  I  returned,  never  once  crossed 
my  mind — though  why,  I  know  not.  At  first,  I  could 
scarce  believe  it;  but  there  it  was,  in  black  and 
white,  the  plainness  of  the  chirography  forbidding  a 
doubt  of  its  authenticity;  so  there  was  nothing  left 
for  me  to  do  but  to  sit  down  and  acknowledge  myself 
taken  all  aback  by  the  intelligence.  After  a  few 
minutes  reflection,  I  could  not  but  laugh  at  my 
stupidity,  or  inadvertency,  in  never  having  made  a 
provision  in  my  mind  for  such  a  contingency ;  how- 
ever,  so  wags  the  world ;   improbable   events  are 


EFFECTS   OF   DISAPrOINTMENT.  371 

fostered  by  the  imagination,  whilst  probable  ones  are 
allowed,  through  inattention,  to  escape  notice. 

After  having  thoroughly  read  over  my  letters,  I 
had  leisure  to  think  of  my  companions.  Some,  I 
could  see  by  the  expression  of  the  eyes,  and  nervous 
exhilarated  step,  had  received  good  news  from  home ; 
others,  by  their  troubled  air,  displayed  their  reception 
of  unwelcome  tidings ;  whilst  those  who  had  received 
none,  either  walked  alone  with  compressed  lip  and 
lowering  brow,  refusing  all  sympathy,  or  strove  by 
an  affected  gayety  to  laugh  off  the  carelessness  of 
their  people  in  not  writing. 

As  the  reception  of  a  letter  from  home,  by  the  sea- 
man, after  a  long  cruise,  exhilarates,  and  encourages 
him,  developing  all  the  best  principles  of  his  nature, 
so,  on  the  other  hand,  the  least  inattention  or  slight 
on  the  part  of  his  friends,  depresses  him  ;  and,  on 
arriving  in  port  where  he  has  long  expected  intelli- 
gence; on  being  disappointed  he  goes  ashore  and  is 
ready  to  engage  in  any  dissipation,  apologizing  to 
himself  for  his  departure  from  virtue,  by  the  reflec- 
tion that  nobody  cares  for  him,  or  else  they  would 
take  the  trouble  to  write  to  him.  Mark  a  case  in 
point.  One  of  our  crew,  a  Massachusetts  boy  nearly 
approaching  to  manhood,  had,  for  months,  talked 
and  thought  of  nothing  but  his  news  and  letters 
from  home  at  St.  Helena.  He  had,  to  my  know- 
ledge, written  some  twenty-five  letters ;  heretofore  he 
had  received  no  letters  from  home,  but  thought,  of 
course,  they  had  written,  and  their  missives  were 
aboard  ships  we  had  not  seen.  Meantime,  he  had 
been  at  work  for  months,  manufacturing  trinkets 
and  other  articles  from  ivory,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 


372    MORAL  EFFECT  OF  LETTERS  FROM  HOME. 

senting  them  to  his  friends  and  relatives.  On  arri- 
ving at  St.  Helena,  there  was  not  a  word  or  line  from 
home  for  him.  I  never  saw  a  person  so  depressed ; 
his  trinkets  were  given  away  or  sold,  and  he  asserted 
it  as  his  firm  determination,  when  he  did  land  in  the 
United  States,  not  to  go  home. 

Mothers  who  wish  to  keep  their  sons  in  the  path 
of  virtue,  and  sisters  who  cherish  a  brother's  memory, 
w^hen  far  away  upon  the  sea,  w^ould  do  well  to  bear 
this  fact  in  mind,  and  be*  careful  to  write,  so  that  at 
every  civilized  port  the  object  of  their  solicitude  may 
receive  intelligence  from  home ;  this,  by  a  little  in- 
quiry at  the  outset  of  the  voyage,  can  be  easily 
arranged.  It  does  not  make  so  much  difierence 
about  the  reception  of  letters  at  sea,  for  there  but 
few  temptations  to  the  grosser  paths  of  sin  are  expe- 
rienced ;  but  when,  after  a  long  and  arduous  cruise, 
his  ship  enters  port,  he  feels  need  of  relaxation,  and, 
unless  reminded  of  home  and  kindred,  he  easily  falls 
a  prey  to  the  wiles  of  the  courtezan  and  the  publican, 
w^ho  are  ever  on  the  alert  to  entrap  the  unwary  and 
inexperienced. 

But  it  is  time  that  I  should  return  to  my  original 
topic — the  consideration  of  the  Island  of  St.  Helena 
and  its  residents.  Not  having  had  opportunity  to  go 
ashore  myself,  I  must  see  it  through  the  eyes  of 
others  and  describe  it  from  their  lips.  Here  comes 
the  boat's  crew^ ;  it  consists  of  six,  who,  although 
dressed  alike  and  of  the  same  country,  vastly  differ 
in  sentiment.  First,  we  will  ask  the  less  refined  of 
the  lot  —  those  two  w^hose  reckless,  careless  air,  be- 
speak them  jovial,  hearty  fellows,  ever  vcsidy  for  a 
lark  without  thinking  of  or  caring  for  consequences — 


DESCRIPTION  OF   THE   ISLAND   OF   ST.  HELENA.     373 

their  answer  to  my  inquiry  as  to  what  kind  of  place 
it  was,  being  characteristic  of  their  class  (which  is 
largely  represented  in  the  whaling  fleet),  "  That 
Jamestown  is  a  sailor's  paradise."  "  Why  so,  my 
hearty  ?"  "  Because  there  is  neither  lack  of  women 
nor  wine." 

We  will  now  turn  to  the  next  comer;  he  is  a 
Western  man,  from  Milwaukie,  Wisconsin,  of  Scotch 
parentage,  has  been  with  us  all  the  voyage,  and  is 
one  of  the  best  and  most  reliable  men  in  the  ship ; 
to  a  naturally  strong  mind,  he  unites  an  acute  per- 
ception of  men  and  manners,  and,  withal,  a  high 
moral  tone  pervades  all  he  says  and  does. 

His  statement  was,  that  on  going  ashore  he  found 
a  stepping-stone,  some  twenty  feet  in  width,  in  front 
of  the  town,  for  the  convenience  of  boats  landing ; 
they  pulled  to  it  and  landed,  but  the  swell  continually 
heaving  in,  rendered  it  impossible  to  moor  the  boat 
without  certainly  calculating  on  her  being  stoven ; 
so  a  couple  of  the  boys,  of  whom  numbers  were 
swarming  along  ashore,  were  entrusted  with  her,  and 
our  fellows  went  on  a  cruise  about  the  town.  He 
described  the  town  as  not  unlike  other  colonial  cities, 
with  the  usual  number  of  government  buildings,  and 
red-coated  soldiery  standing  guard,  as  if  to  keep  these 
massive  stone  heaps  from  escaping.  The  inhabitants 
were  of  all  colors,  from  black  to  white,  each  moving 
in  its  particular  sphere.  The  blacks  are  slaves,  cap- 
tured by  British  cruisers,  and  sent  here  to  labor  and 
pay  the  expenses  of  their  capture.  Some  months 
since,  a  cargo  of  six  hundred  of  these  Africans  was 
landed  in  Rupert's  Valley  ;  they  were  awarded  by  the 
Government  a  twelvemonths'  stay  at  St.  Helena;  at 
32 


374  LETTERS  FOR  ST.  HELENA. 

the  expiration  of  the  year  they  were  to  be  sent  to 
the  British  West  Indian  possessions  to  be  disposed 
of  as  apprentices.  The  other  inhabitants  of  St. 
Helena  are  bitterly  opposed  to  the  introduction  of 
these  creatures  into  their  quiet  island,  stating  that 
they  are  indolent  and  insolent  to  an  extreme  degree, 
and  are  firmly  persuaded  that  the  island  is  a  part  of 
Africa  and  belongs  to  them.  The  inhabitants  have 
petitioned  the  queen  for  their  removal,  but  she  has 
declined  complying  with  their  request. 

D.'s  principal  object  in  going  ashore  was  to  deliver 
several  letters,  which  had  been  handed  to  him  by 
natives  of  St.  Helena,  on  board  ships  in  the  Indian 
Ocean.  One  of  the  parties  he  found,  and  made  a 
mother's  heart  glad  by  tidings  of  the  good  health  of 
her  son  ;  after  perusing  it,  she  loaded  the  bearer  of 
the  missive  with  thanks.  Another  party,  for  whom 
he  had  a  letter,  was  dead ;  this  was  from  a  son  who 
had  not  seen  home  or  parents  for  six  years.  I  heard 
him  speak  of  his  home  and  his  anticipated  return ; 
but,  alas!  he  will  find  a  cheerless  hearthstone  —  his 
parents  dead,  and  none  but  strangers  to  yield  him 
sympathy. 

These  people,  or  rather  those  w^ho  are  natives,  are 
brunettes.  A  number  of  the  children,  who  were 
on  our  vessel,  seemed  to  be  perfectly  at  home  upon 
the  water.  Their  voices  are  peculiarly  sweet,  and 
we  were  enlivened  by  these  youngsters  singing  a 
number  of  whaling  and  naval  songs ;  and  the  spirit 
with  which  they  entered  into  the  performance, 
rendered  a  prophecy  of  their  future  callings  in  life 
a  matter  of  certainty  and  easy  augury. 

I  have  before  me  the  St.  Helena  Almanac  for  1858, 


ALMANAC   STATISTICS.  375 

which  contains  much  information  regarding  the 
island  —  its  trade,  and  inhabitants.  From  it  I  learn 
that  the  population  numbers  ^ve  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  ninety  souls,  and  to  attend  to  the  health 
of  this  population,  there  is  but  one  doctor  of  medi- 
cine ;  so  here  is  a  fair  field  for  any  Yankee  disciple 
of  Esculapius  who  wishes  for  employment,  and  does 
not  object  to  leaving  home  to  find  it. 

The  amount  of  importation  for  the  year  1856, 
reached  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  one  thousand 
'S.ve  hundred  and  sixty-two  pounds,  of  which  one- 
fourth  was  through  American  whaleships  engaged 
in  the  South  Sea  fishery ;  the  balance  was  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  The  exports  for  the  same  time 
amounted  to  twent^'-four  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds,  twenty-two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  pounds  of  which  was  to  the 
United  States.  These  facts  show  the  importance  of 
the  whaling  trade  to  the  revenue  of  the  island. 

This  book  also  contains  information  relative  to  the 
government-ofiicers,  the  various  churches,  the  tele- 
graph department,  &c.,  of  the  island ;  yet,  as  we  are 
in  a  hurry  to  get  homeward,  we  will  not  tarry  for  the 
consideration  of  further  statistics,  but  return  to  our 
ship. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  2d  inst.,  having  ran  close 
in  to  land,  we  were  becalmed  and  in  imminent  risk 
of  going  ashore ;  but  by  lowering  the  boats  and 
strenuously  pulling  we  managed  to  get  the  ship's 
head  pointed  seaward.  A  light  breeze  springing  up, 
we  were  soon  relieved  from  our  apprehensions.  At 
6 J  o'clock  P.  M.  the  captain  came  ofl*  and  imme- 
diately the   order  was   given   to   square   away  for 


376      THE  DOLDORUMS  OF  THE  EQUATOR. 

home.  Every  one  at  once  turned-to  with  a  will: 
the  yards  were  manned  in  a  twinkling;  studding- 
sail  booms  and  studdingsail  rigging  w^ere  rigged  and 
rove  aloft  and  alow,  until  the  masts  wore,  as  it  were, 
an  entire  sheet  of  canvass  from  the  royal  yards  to  the 
deck,  extending  twice  or  thrice  our  beam,  and  assist- 
ing to  the  utmost  our  expeditious  return.  But  the 
wind  was  aft  and  light,  and  our  ship  by  no  means 
kept  pace  with  our  impatient  desires.  Yet  directly 
onward  she  made  her  way,  unmarked  by  incident, 
until  within  a  few  degrees  of  the  Equator.  Here  the 
doldorums  (those  pests  of  the  homeward-bound !)  oc- 
casioned a  delay  which  well  nigh  again  exhausted  our 
patience.  These  doldorums  are  neither  one  thing 
nor  the  other ;  they  are  not  positive  calms,  neither 
are  they  gales.  For  instance,  one  may  wake  at  sun- 
rise, find  a  pleasant  breeze  blowing,  the  wdnd  fair, 
sky  clear,  and  not  a  sign  in  the  horizon  on  which  to 
base  a  supposition  of  change :  under  this  impression 
he  will  lounge  around,  congratulate  himself  on  the 
ship's  progress,  anjd  occupy  his  mind  with  thoughts 
of  home ;  but,  pausing,  he  glances  to  the  sails,  and 
finds  them  flapping  from  the  scarcity  of  wind ;  and 
awakened  from  his  reverie  by  the  cheerless  booming 
of  the  canvass,  he  directs  his  attention  to  the  horizon, 
and  finds  haze  or  clouds  in  every  quarter,  portending 
squalls,  either  of  rain  or  wind.  A  minute  later,  the 
flapping  sail  is  hard  aback,  with  a  contrary  wind ; 
torrents  of  rain  are  falling ;  squall  follows  squall,  in 
rapid  succession,  each  from  a  different  point  —  and 
thus  they  continue,  until,  having  boxed  the  compass 
in  the  course  of  an  hour,  the  ship  returns  to  her 
former  position,  and  lazily  drags  herself  along  for 


UNEASINESS   OF   OUR   SHIP'S    COMPANY.  377 

awhile,  when  the  same  scenes  re-occur,  and  so  alter- 
nate day  after  day.  For  ten  days  were  we  in  irons, 
(as  seamen  term  our  situation,)  during  the  whole  of 
which  time  we  made  no  more  than  ten  degrees  —  an 
average  of  two  and  a  half  miles  per  hour :  a  pace 
that  was  far  too  slow  to  be  easily  endured  by  men 
who  had  been  for  forty-four  months  past  looking 
forward  to  this  passage  with  such  intense  interest. 
Ko  idea  of  the  uneasiness  (I  can  use  no  better  word) 
of  the  crew  can  be  formed  by  a  person  who  has  never 
witnessed  a  ship's  companj^  situated  precisely  as  we 
w^ere.  Every  mile  —  every  degree  of  the  course  was 
accurately  measured  and  counted.  All  who  were 
capable  might  have  been  seen,  with  quadrant  in  hand, 
taking  the  sun's  altitude,  working  up  the  ship's  time, 
comparing  one  day's  run  with  another,  and  guessing 
what  the  performance  of  the  next  twenty -four  hours 
would  be ;  whilst  those  not  possessed  of  a  quadrant 
w^atched  with  peering  eyes  for  the  moment  that  would 
reveal  the  result  of  the  operator's  calculations.  On 
turning  out,  before  donning  their  apparel,  the  first 
questions  of  the  watch  below,  were  —  how  is  the 
wind  ?  how  many  knots  is  she  going  ?  what  is  the 
latitude  ?  w^hat  the  longitude  ?  —  all  delivered  in  a 
breath.  If  the  answer  was,  "  She  is  going  along  some 
eight  or  nine  knots  an  hour,"  the  interrogator  took 
a  long  inspiration,  thus  evincing  his  relief  and  inward 
satisfaction,  and  would  then  say,  "Pull,  girls,  pull !" 
But  if  the  ship  was  plunging,  and  the  spars  and  rig- 
ging creaking  from  the  pressure  of  their  snow-white 
pinions,  he  would  be  delighted;  and,  jumping  on 
deck  to  assure  himself  that  everything  was  drawing, 
he  would  chuckle  forth,  in  the  height  of  his  glee, 
32* 


378         OCCUPATION  A   REMEDY  FOE,   DISCONTENT. 

"  Give  it  to  her,  old  boy !  She  is  all  oak.  She 
knows  where  she  is  bound  to ;  so,  pack  on  your 
tappa  —  she  will  bear  it!"  If  some  one  remarked 
that  she  was  heeled  down  very  much,  and  sail  was 
being  dragged  instead  of  carried,  he  was  hooted  at 
for  a  soldier,  and  sent  to  the  cook  to  learn  seaman- 
ship. If  the  officer  of  the  deck  started  away  or  took 
in  any  sail,  he  was  maligned  for  a  milksop,  and  fated 
to  hear  lots  of  grumbling,  together  with  the  advice, 
given  to  him  in  an  undertone,  that  he  should  stay  at 
home,  when  he  got  there,  and  send  his  big  sister  to 
sea  to  carry  sail  for  him. 

To  obviate  this  uneasiness,  many  plans  were  re- 
sorted to,  and  the  true  one  w^as  at  length  hit  upon : 
the  infallible  one  of  labor.  All  hands  seemed  sud- 
denly transformed  into  a  colony  of  curiosity-hunters. 
One  w^ould  be  seen  with  a  box  of  shells,  cleaning 
them ;  another  with  a  Madagascar  spear,  polishing 
it,  so  as  to  be  presentable ;  w^hilst  others  had  articles 
of  ivory,  bone,  and  wood,  and  w^ere  busily  employed 
in  improving  their  appearance,  so  as  to  render  them 
more  creditable  to  the  donor.  Every  man  in  the 
ship  had  more  or  less  of  this  description  of  articles; 
the  greater  part  of  which  had  been  constructed  aboard 
from  the  jaws  and  teeth  of  the  sperm  whales.  Our 
occupation  with  these  things  continued  not  only  for 
hours,  but  for  days,  and  in  some  instances  whole 
weeks. 

Thus  the  time  glided  on,  until  we  found  ourselves 
hurried  along  by  the  northeast  trades.  These  de- 
lightful winds  we  encountered  when  but  two  degrees 
to  the  northward  of  the  line ;  and  during  their  con- 
tinuance we  had  nothing  to  grumble  at,  as  we  had  a 


A   sailor's  speech  —  A  JONAH   ABOARD.         379 

fair  wind  and  plenty  of  it.  From  the  testimony  of 
former  voyagers,  who  had  run  up  and  down  these 
trades,  we  expected  that  we  would  be  favored  with 
their  continuance  until  we  should  arrive  in  latitude 
23  or  24°  north;  but  in  this,  like  in  most  of 
our  other  pleasant  anticipations,  we  were  disap- 
pointed. When  we  reached  the  fourteenth  parallel 
of  north  latitude,  they  had  almost  ceased ;  and  then, 
forgetful  of  their  benefits,  we  grumbled  at  their 
scarce  more  than  ephemeral  existence.  I  well  re- 
member the  expression  of  one  of  our  crew,  delivered 
with  approved  bitterness  of  spirit.  The  occasion 
of  this  was  a  mid  watch  at  night,  when  all  of  the 
starboard  watch  were  grouped  together  by  the  wind- 
lass, discussing  our  experience  of  the  variability  of 
the  winds,  while  destined  to  some  port  or  other  in 
the  course  of  the  voyage.  The  speaker,  having 
heard  the  opinions  of  several  others,  stepped  into 
the  center  of  the  little  knot,  and,  with  an  emphatic 
gesture  of  the  hand,  said  :  "  Shipmates  !  it  is  no  use 
talking :  we  are  fated  to  meet  with  nothing  but  foul 
winds  and  head-beat  seas  until  we  get  home,  and 
then  the  bad  luck  that  has  kept  us  company  for  the 
past  forty-four  months  may  leave  us.  But  there  is, 
and  has  been,  a  Jonah  in  the  ship  the  whole  voyage, 
from  the  time  we  left  New  Bedford.  The  first  we 
saw  of  it  was  in  the  Eliza  Carrew's  coming  in  con- 
tact with  us  ;  next,  sperm  whaling  off  N'ew  Holland. 
When  bound  to  Balli  we  had  a  head  wind;  bound 
to  the  Australian  Bight  we  had  one  of  the  dirtiest 
of  dirty  passages.  To  Kew  Zealand  we  made  a  first- 
rate  passage;  but,  when  there,  what  was  our  for- 
tune ?     To  get  scarce  any  oil,  and  lose  one  of  our 


880  RESIGNATION   TO   OUR   ILL-FATE. 

best  men !  Then,  bound  from  there  to  Hobartown, 
we  had  the  wind  smack  in  our  teeth  for  two  weeks, 
when,  with  a  favorable  breeze,  we  should  have  per- 
formed the  run  in  three  or  four  days.  Our  ill-success 
in  whaling  to  the  southward,  and  on  our  visit  to  the 
Abrolhas',  is  too  glaring  to  need  particularization. 
Our  passage  to  Mauritius  was  but  a  drawl,  from  the 
lightness  of  the  winds.  In  doubling  the  Cape  we  were 
Jacksoned  a  week  —  at  the  line  the  same  ill-fortune 
attended  us.  Now  we  have  lost  the  northeast  trades 
a  week  before  we  ought  to.  Add  to  these  our  other 
malexperiences,  such  as  men  falling  from  aloft,  boats 
capsized  and  stoven,  a  sperm  whale's  head  lost. 
And,  to  crown  all,  here  we  are,  bound  on  to  the 
North  American  coast  in  the  worst  month  of  the 
year,  with  an  unremunerative  voyage.  Now,  in  the 
name  of  reason  !  how  any  one  can  expect  good  luck 
in  the  face  of  this  category  I  cannot  understand  :  as 
for  myself,  I  cannot."  And,  with  a  gloomy  shake 
of  the  head,  the  speaker  concluded,  folded  his  arms 
across  his  breast,  and  seemed  resigned  to  the  hard 
fate  he  had  depicted  for  himself.  His  manner,  how- 
ever, was  such  as  to  convince  the  most  casual  ob- 
server that  his  was  a  spirit  to  combat  manfully  what- 
ever further  misfortunes  might  befall  us,  through 
accident  or  any  other  cause.  The  whole  bearing  of 
the  man,  in  fact,  showed  a  perfect  confidence  in  the 
ability  of  himself  and  his  shipmates  to  resist  every 
tide  of  eviV  the  great  Neptune  might  send.  His 
enumeration  of  our  ill-successes  heretofore  made  his 
argument  almost  unanswerable ;  but  still  I  essayed 
to  administer  some  consolation  by  quoting  the  old 
adage,  "  it  is  always  darkest  before  day,"  and  adding 


JACK  tar's  thoughtlessness.  881 

that  from  the  fact  of  our  former  misadventures  we 
might  reasonably  look  forward  for  corresponding 
good  ones  in  the  future.  Yet  I  awakened  no  sym- 
pathetic chord  in  the  bosoms  of  my  auditors.  My 
predecessor  had  something  tangible  to  base  his  pre- 
diction upon :  a  something,  which,  through  its  fami- 
liarity to  the  minds  of  all,  appealed  directly  to  their 
hearts ;  and,  although  I  took  the  other  side,  I  must 
confess  that  I  myself  was  almost  convinced  there 
was  more  probability  in  his  than  in  my  theory.  I 
felt,  indeed,  that  our  past  crosses  were  sure  prestiges 
of  still  more  to  come. 

It  may  be  supposed  by  some  that  such  a  conver- 
sation and  prediction  would  have  a  gloomy  effect  on 
the  minds  of  persons  with  such  vivid  imaginations 
as  seamen ;  but,  fortunately,  (or  unfortunately,  which- 
ever it  may  be,)  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred 
neither  good  nor  evil  makes  any  more  lasting  impres- 
sion on  their  minds  than  water  does  upon  a  duck's 
back.  For  the  moment,  they  become  absorbed  in 
the  topic  of  that  moment;  but  look  at  them  an 
instant  later,  you  will  see  the  same  careless  bearing, 
and  hear  the  merry  jest  passed  around  as  gleefully 
as  ever.  Yerily,  there  is  need  of  a  "sweet  little 
cherub  to  sit  up  aloft,  and  keep  up  a  watch  over  the 
life  of  Jack  Tar"  ;  for  he  will  not  look  out  for  him- 
self. This  very  thoughtlessness,  however,  renders 
him  all  the  more  useful  aboard  ship.  Many  times, 
if  he  should  pause  to  think  of  the  danger  to  himself 
in  the  performance  of  a  particular  duty,  his  hesitation 
would  bring  destruction  upon  the  ship  and  its  in- 
mates. For  instance,  it  is  blowing  heavily :  a  top- 
sail is  clewed  up  —  the  ship  will  not  bear  it,  and 


382  THE  seaman's  perils. 

the  sail  is  flapping  in  a  manner  which  will  destroy 
it  in  a  few  minutes,  for  it  is  sweeping  abaft  the  yard. 
(Now  this  is  the  only  topsail  that  can  be  depended 
upon  in  case  the  ship  on  arriving  at  the  coast  should 
be  jammed  on  a  lee-shore:  for  then  nothing  could 
be  saved  except  by  its  proper  management  and  use.) 
Jack  knows  that  under  precisely  these  circumstances 
hundreds  of  seamen  have  been  torn  from  the  foot-rope 
while  in  the  line  of  their  duty,  and  hurled  into  the  sea, 
when  the  fury  of  the  elements  precluded  the  possi- 
bility of  an  attempt  to  save  them.  Perchance  in  his 
last  ship  such  an  accident  occurred :  mayhap  his 
messmate  was  swept  from  the  same  yardarm  he  him- 
self was  on.  But  he  does  not  stop  to  think  of  all 
this :  he  springs  into  the  rigging,  climbs  to  the  yard, 
gets  a  foothold,  and  (at  every  step  forced  to  throw 
the  sail  over  his  head)  arrives  at  the  earing,  when  his 
task  becomes  comparatively  easy.  Little  by  little 
he  gathers  up,  passing  his  gasket,  and  securing  the 
sail,  until  all  is  snugly  lashed  along  the  yard  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  wind  has  no  effect  upon  it.  Ilis 
task  now  done,  he  descends  to  the  deck,  as  if  nothing 
more  than  the  most  ordinary  occupation  had  been 
his;  and  he  is  ready  and  willing  to  go  aloft  again, 
if  necessity  demands  it. 

It  is  ever  thus  at  sea.  The  seaman's  life,  day  by 
day,  hour  by  hour,  is  exposed  to  peril,  now  in  one 
form,  now  in  another:  from  the  heavy  sea  sweeping 
the  ship,  the  unruly  canvas,  the  defective  spar.  The 
wheel  may  throw  and  maim  him,  a  stranded  rope 
precipitate  him  to  the  deck ;  or,  in  laying  out  of  a 
tempestuous  night  upon  the  jib  or  flying-jib  boom 
he  may  miss  his  footing :  he  falls  into  the  sea,  the 


THE   SAILOR'S   MERRY   AND    BRAVE   HEART.        383 

ship  passes  over  him  !  —  Jack  has  furled  his  last  sail, 
and  dies  far  from  home  and  friends,  without  a  tomb- 
stone to  mark  his  resting-place:  his  body  at  the 
mercy  of  the  wave,  whilst  his  spirit,  we  hope,  ascends 
to  a  better  and  happier  state  of  existence,  where  he 
anchors  in  a  bright  haven  of  peace,  in  vivid  contrast 
with  his  life  on  earth,  or  rather  on  the  sea. 

God  help  the  sailor !  is  the  prayer  of  all  who  wish 
him  well.  And  God  does  help  him,  or  else  his  would 
indeed  be  a  comfortless  existence.  The  Creator  gives 
him  a  merry  heart,  and  a  brave  one  too.  The  former 
enables  him  to  meet  cheerfully  the  many  discomforts 
incident  to  his  profession,  whilst  the  latter  prevents 
him  from  perceiving  danger  and  destruction  in  every 
blast  that  sweeps  the  ocean  :  together,  they  incite 
him  to  hope  almost  against  hope,  and  continue  his 
exertions  in  the  storm,  until  absolute  destruction 
overwhelms  him.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  seaman's 
giving  up  in  despair,  even  when  the  merest  thread 
of  hope  only  remained  ?  N^one.  No,  they  are  manly 
to  the  last ;  and  they  always  have  at  least  the  proud 
satisfaction  of  having  performed  their  duty,  even 
though  their  exertions  were  all  in  vain.  The  pleas- 
ant poetess.  Miss  Eliza  Cook,  has  done  them  but  jus- 
tice, when  she  says, 

«'  The  dark-blue  jacket  that  enfolds  the  sailor's  manly  breast 
Bears  more  of  real  honor  than  the  star  and  ermine  vest. 
The  tithe  of  folly  in  his  head  may  wake  the  landsman's  mirth 
But  Natm-e  proudly  owns  him  as  her  child  of  sterling  worth." 

Some  persons  ashore  may  think  that  T  have  allowed 
my  feelings  to  carry  me  away,  and  that  in  writing  of  a 
class  of  men,  endeared  to  me  by  association  and  a  par- 


384     JACK  TAR  ON  THE  SEA  AND  ASHORE. 

ticipation  in  the  vicissitudes  of  their  everyday  life, 
1  have  fallen  into  a  rhapsody,  or  employed  rodomon- 
tade ;  whilst  not  a  few  readers  will  think  that  I  have 
merely  blown  my  own  horn.  Yet  I  will  appeal  for 
corroboration  of  all  I  have  written  to  those  w^ho  have 
seen  Jack  Tar  on  his  proper  element:  whether,  on 
the  sea,  he  does  not  display  some  of  the  noblest  traits 
of  humanity  —  not  merely  physical  excellencies,  but 
high  moral  qualities  ?  "Whether  he  is  not  there  the 
most  patient  and  courageous  of  human  beings? 
Whether  he  does  not  sing  the  same  in  storm  or  calm, 
and  unflinchingly  meet  all  hardships  with  a  cheerful 
spirit?  I  feel  assured  that  all  who  have  thus  seen 
him  will  attest  to  his  good  qualities.  Ashore  he  is 
not  the  same  creature.  The  only  apology  I  can  oflfer 
for  his  excesses  here  is,  that  such  are  naturally 
prompted  by  the  liberation  of  his  buoyant  spirit, 
—  with  a  hardy  frame  and  hot  blood  —  from  a 
long  confinement  and  abstinence  aboard  ship. 
It  is  from  sheer  wantonness  that  he  exults  in  the 
commission  of  his  thousand-and-one  frivolities ;  but 
which  seldom  leads  him  into  the  perpetration  of  any 
criminal  act. 

But,  let  us  take  a  sober  second  view  of  this  matter, 
and  see  w^hether  Jack's  follies  — crimes,  too,  if  you 
please  —  are  altogether  of  his  own  immoral  brewing. 
Of  course  there  can  be  no  question  of  this,  if  we  use 
the  cold-blooded  formal  argument  of  the  self-sufficient 
man,  which  is,  that  inasmuch  as  he,  like  all  the  rest 
of  mankind,  is  a  free  agent,  his  shortcomings  and 
misdeeds  must  necessarily  be  voluntary,  and  there- 
fore he  alone  should  be  held  responsible  for  them. 
But,  1  would  ask,  does  not  society  in  a  measure 


AMELIORATION   OF   THE  SEAMAN'S   CONDITION.     385 

assist  in  his  demoralization  ?  Are  not  its  respectable 
avenues  closed  to  the  foremast  hand  ?  Fathers  and 
mothers  of  families,  do  you,  in  your  philanthropic 
moods,  extend  to  the  seaman  the  same  warm  wel- 
come into  your  families  as  you  do  to  the  landsman  ? 
Does  he,  landing  in  a  strange  port,  find  those  who 
take  him  into  the  society  of  the  virtuous,  and  thus 
place  before  him  the  opportunity  of  passing  his  hours 
rationally,  and  so  endeavor  to  prevent  his  becoming 
the  victim  of  irksome  idleness,  in  whose  train  there 
usually  is  such  an  execrable  brood  of  ills  ?  No !  —  I 
can  answer  from  experience  —  you  do  not.  In  your 
stead,  out  of  consideration  for  his  hard  earnings,  the 
harlot  and  the  publican  meet  him  at  every  landing, 
and  with  Judas- like  greetings  prevail  on  him  to  his 
destruction. 

"Nobody  cares  for  me!"  one  will  hear  from  at 
least  one-half  the  inmates  of  every  forecastle,  and  in 
the  greater  proportion  of  such  cases  it  is  really  too 
true.  If  the  seaman  has  no  immediate  relatives,  he 
finds  those  whom  he  meets  ashore  solicitous  to  make 
his  acquaintance  only  for  the  sake  of  their  own  profit. 
To  be  sure,  Seamen's  Homes,  Bethels,  and  Aid  So- 
cieties, have  done  much,  very  much.  God  forbid ! 
that  I  should  say  a  word  that  could  be  construed 
into  a  disparagement  of  the  efforts  of  these  noble 
and  benevolent  institutions.  But  there  is  something 
more  than  these  needed  to  reclaim  the  outcast  sea- 
man for  society,  and  teach  him  truly  that  he  has  a 
character  to  maintain,  as  well  as  an  abiding  interest 
in  the  commonwealth.  In  fact,  to  effect  a  per- 
manent amelioration  of  his  condition,  he  must  in 
his  youth  be  educated  and  disciplined  with  a  view 
33  z 


386      INFLUENCE  OF  THE  GENTLER  SEX. 

to  his  profession,  become  accustomed  to  revere  the 
ties  and  restraints  of  home  and  society,  and  be  fully 
imbued  with  the  principles  of  national  citizenship. 

In  this  humane  work,  the  influence  of  the  gentler 
sex  is  vitally  essential.  The  time  has  long  gone  by 
when  the  seaman  (the  American  seaman  in  particu- 
lar) was  a  rude,  uncouth  being  —  half  fish,  half  man  : 
apparelled  in  a  blue  jacket  and  tarpaulin  hat ;  his 
cheek  pouched  out  with  a  great  chew  of  tobacco ; 
his  walk  a  swagger,  and  his  language  redolent  of 
oaths  and  tar.  Such  is  a  picture  of  Jack  that  has 
been  drawn  (from  time  immemorial)  by  too  many 
authors,  whose  very  particularizing,  however,  dis- 
closes to  the  initiated  their  ignorance  of  the  subject. 
Your  true  sailor,  from  the  general  stigma  that  at- 
taches to  his  class  ashore,  rather  inclines  to  conceal, 
than  make  an  unnecessary  display  of  his  calling. 
I  have  now  been  afloat  almost  four  years;  in  one 
place  or  another,  met  with  at  least  ten  thousand 
seamen,  principally  belonging  to  our  mercantile  and 
w^haling  marine;  and,  although  closely  observing 
their  habits,  manners,  and  peculiarities,  I  never  saw 
the  original  of  the  false  picture  above  presented — a 
familiar  one,  it  is  true,  to  the  readers  of  the  yellow- 
covered  nautical  romances  of  the  day.  So,  ladies, 
you  need  not  fear,  that,  in  urging  you  to  extend  a 
cordial  greeting  to  Jack,  I  desire  to  favor  the  intro- 
duction of  a  boorish  clown  into  your  refined  circles. 
But  I  will  leave  that  to  your  own  fair  judgments. 
Compare  him  with  the  landsman :  ten  to  one,  you 
will  place  them  on  an  equality;  and,  if  you  have  a 
sparkling  of  romance  in  your  character,  you  will 
give  the  Tar  the  preference. 


AN  ADDRESS  TO  PARENTS.  387 

To  your  parents,  dear  ladies,  I  would  particularly 
address  myself,  and  say  to  them :  it  is  your  duty  (I 
speak  plainly)  to  hasten  this  important  matter,  by 
which  a  noble  class  of  your  fellow-men  may  be  so 
greatly  benefitted,  both  here  and  hereafter.  Do  not 
fear,  that  by  the  introduction  of  the  sailor  into  your 
families,  you  would  nurse  an  adder,  who  would  take 
advantage  of  your  courtesy,  and  either  corrupt  your 
daughters,  or  entice  your  sons  from  home  into  his 
own  perilous  pursuit.  His  high  appreciation  and 
admiration  of  virtue  will  secure  for  the  female  portion 
of  your  family  a  degree  of  respect  and  attention  from 
him,  that  would  be  looked  upon  by  the  young  bucks 
of  the  present  day  with  wonder  and  contempt ;  whilst 
his  plain  matter-of-fact  and  common-sense  descrip- 
tions of  the  sea  and  its  perils,  hardships  and  plea- 
sures, would  divest  the  subject  of  the  glowing  ima- 
gery with  which  it  is  clothed  by  the  fertile  fancy  of 
your  youthful  son,  and  thus  enable  him  to  see  it  in 
its  true  light.  If  the  latter  should  then,  however, 
still  be  anxious  to  barter  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
of  home  for  the  discomforts  and  privations  of  the  sea, 
let  him  go  !  He  was  cut  out  for  a  sailor,  and  will 
sooner  or  later  arrive  at  eminence  in  the  profession 
of  his  well-advised  choice. 

But  how,  (methinks  I  hear  you  ask,)  and  by  what 
means,  is  this  good  work  to  be  accomplished  ?  It  is 
quite  easy,  says  another  I  imagine,  to  see  and  de- 
scribe the  need  of  such  a  proceeding ;  but  how  is  it 
to  be  done?  My  answer  is:  I  have  accomplished 
what  I  originally  intended,  namely,  to  indicate 
the  great  good  to  be  done  by  such  a  movement. 
It  would  be  presumption,  on  the  part  of  so  young  a 


888  OPINIONS   AND   PLANS. 

man  as  myself,  to  point  out  the  means  by  which 
it  may  be  effected.  Older  and  wiser  heads  are  now 
engaged  in  this  good  work :  men  of  much  experience 
and  pure,  active  Christianity.  But,  if  these  should 
fail,  or  wish  my  views,  I  will  not  hesitate  to  furnish 
my  opinions  and  plans  at  some  future  day,  and  with 
great  pleasure  respectfully  submit  them  to  their 
consideration. 


NAERATIVE   RESUMED.  389 


CHAPTER   XY. 

But  I  have  digressed  long  enough.  I  now  return 
to  the  old  Pacific  and  her  inmates,  as  she  was  when 
we  crossed  the  line,  or  a  few  degrees  to  the  southward 
of  it ;  at  which  time  we  lost  sight  of  the  Magellan 
clouds.  Shortly  after  this  the  glorious  Southern  Cross 
disappeared  from  our  view.  These  two  constella- 
tions had  been  for  years  our  landmarks  in  the  hea- 
vens, (pardon  the  incompatibility  of  the  expression,) 
and  had  become  so  familiar  that  at  night  the  horizon 
seemed  to  us  incomplete  without  them ;  but  still  we 
hailed  their  retirement  from  our  view  with  delight, 
for  it  was  an  earnest  of  home.  For  several  nights 
afterward  we  strained  our  eyes  and  patience  in  un- 
availing search  for  the  N"orth  Star.  At  last  it  was 
sighted  by  a  close  observer.  It  was  hailed  by  a 
general  shout,  that  made  the  welkin  ring ;  and  hearts 
warmed  as  day  after  day  in  our  passage  north  we 
opened  still  farther  the  glories  of  the  northern  sky ; 
our  own,  with  its  fleecy  scud  and  resplendent  tints, 
shedding  refulgence  on  our  free  and  happy  land. 

And  now,  as  we  progressed  day  by  day,  it  may  be 
wondered,  what  were  the  plans  of  our  crew  for  the 
future :  all  having  gained  little  else  than  experience, 
and  that  not  being  a  disposable  commodity  at  our 
place  of  destination.  But,  kind  people !  do  not  think 
that  any  one  of  us  felt  poverty-stricken,  or  dependent 


390         PLANS   OF   OUR   CREW  FOR   THE   FUTURE. 

on  other  than  his  own  exertions  for  support.  A  more 
self-reliable  set  of  men  never  drew  breath  than  those 
who  were  now  around  me.  One  and  all  felt  per- 
fectly able  to  maintain  themselves  respectably,  if 
health  were  vouchsafed  to  them  by  the  Creator ;  and 
all  had  their  plans.  The  first  we  w^ill  consider  is 
that  of  the  Massachusetts  men  —  they  forming  by  far 
the  largest  class.  Although  they  mooted  a  hundred 
difterent  channels  in  which  they  would  direct  their 
energies,  there  was  a  strong  under-current  pervading 
the  whole,  which  bespoke  whaling  as  their  chief 
point,  though  many  declared  this  their  dernier  resort, 
only  to  be  engaged  in  by  them  from  extreme  neces- 
sity. Some  of  them  thought  that  the  whaling  busi- 
ness was  becoming  too  poor  to  follow,  and  declared 
their  intention  of  emigrating  to  Oregon  or  Kansas, 
in  quest  of  gold,  should  the  accounts  from  those  re- 
gions continue  to  hold  out  the  same  favorable  induce- 
ments they  had  already  done. 

The  second  class  whom  we  shall  consider  is,  that 
formed  of  prodigal  sons  —  a  proportionably  numer- 
ous one.  Most  of  this  class  had  left  home  with  a 
desire  to  see  the  world,  and  a  hope  of  returning  with 
both  pockets  full  of  money,  to  astonish  the  "old 
folks  at  home,"  and,  if  necessary,  to  be  expended 
for  their  comfort.  Their  bright  anticipations  not 
having  been  fulfilled,  they  were  ashamed  to  go  home ; 
and,  although  we  may  doubt  the  wisdom  of  such  a 
course,  there  is  an  honorable  pride  attaching  to  it, 
that  cannot  fail  to  command  respect.  Most  of  them 
had  companions  to  whom  they  were  attached  during 
the  voyage,  and  they  determined  that  they  would 
embark    together  to   some  foreign  port  or  other 


HOMELESS   CHILDREN   OF  THE   SEA.  3*j1 

(those  of  the  Mediterranean  were  the  most  popular) 
for  four  or  six  months,  when  they  would  be  sure 
of  their  monthly  wages;  and  should  they  carry 
out  their  resolves,  they  might  then  return  to  their 
homes.  This  plan  sounds  foolish,  and  was  foolish. 
JSTo  doubt  they  would  be  welcome  to  their  relatives, 
with  or  without  money ;  but  I  must  confess  that  in 
the  face  of  the  warmest  letters,  and  in  the  full  assu- 
rance and  conviction  of  the  heartiest  welcome,  I 
myself  felt  a  reluctance  in  returning,  without  some- 
thing of  moment  to  show,  as  a  remuneration  for 
almost  four  years  of  exile. 

The  last  class  (very  few  in  number)  is,  those  who 
had  no  homes  —  children  of  the  sea.  These  did  not 
take  the  same  warm  interest  in  a  return  to  the  States 
as  we  did;  or,  rather,  it  is  a  different  interest — a 
mere  sensual  feeling :  a  desire  to  have  a  good  spree, 
and  be  off  again.  They  had  no  settled  plan,  but 
were  ready,  as  soon  as  their  money  or  credit  became 
exhausted,  to  go  here  or  there,  as  the  caprice  of  the 
moment  or  the  prospect  of  gain  might  lead  them. 
Poor  fellows  !  theirs  was  a  hard  prospective,  and 
they  felt  it ;  for,  when  those,  who  were  so  blessed, 
gathered  around  each  other,  and  talked  of  a  reunion 
with  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters,  they  would  walk 
moodily  and  alone,  or  strive  by  a  reckless  air  to 
show  their  contempt  for  the  comforts  of  home  —  but 
it  was  in  vain.  These  now  expected  to  follow  the 
sea  for  their  bread,  just  as  the  farmer  does  his  plough. 
In  the  absence  of  good  examples  ashore,  they  had 
nothing  to  give  them  a  strong  bias  to  remain  there ; 
they  considered  the  ocean  as  the  granary  from  which 
their  daily  provision  must  be  procured.     God  direct 


392    THE  GULF  STREAM  —  A  SOUTHEAST  GALE. 

them  wherever  they  may  go,  and  in  whatever  they 
may  do  !  —  that  they  may  avoid  the  snares  spread  for 
them  by  the  designing  at  every  step  of  the  paths 
they  must  follow. 

On  the  evening  of  March  17th  we  entered  and 
crossed  the  Gulf  Stream.  Our  near  approach  to  it 
had  been  indicated  days  before  by  the  appearance  of 
the  Gulf  weed.  This  weed  is  inhabited  by  multi- 
farious marine  animals.  On  being  scooped  up  and 
placed  in  a  bucket  of  water,  its  tiny  residents  were 
to  bo  seen  swimming  and  plying  about  w^ith  the 
intensest  activity :  crabs,  lobsters,  various  kinds  of 
fish,  and  the  meduca,  together  with  many  others  that 
are  nondescripts. 

On  arriving  at  the  Stream  we  dipped  up  a  bucket- 
ful of  its  water  from  alongside,  and  found  it  quite 
warm.  A  short  time  afterwards  we  repeated  the 
experiment,  and  found  a  variation  in  the  tempera- 
ture. Thus,  at  intervals  of  fifteen  minutes  through- 
out our  passage  across  it,  we  tested  the  water  to  the 
best  of  our  ability ;  and  although  our  thermometer 
could  not  be  fully  depended  upon,  yet  the  result  was 
still  decided  enough  to  make  me  a  convert  to  Pro- 
fessor Bache's  theory:  that,  the  Gulf  Stream  is  a 
series  of  belts  of  water,  varying  in  temperature,  in- 
stead of  a  body  of  water  of  uninterrupted  equivalent 
warmth. 

On  the  following  day  we  experienced  one  of  those 
southeast  gales,  attended  by  fog,  which  are  so  com- 
mon to  the  American  coast  in  the  month  of  March. 
As  long  as  we  felt  satisfied  that  we  had  an  offing, 
things  w^ent  pretty  well,  and  we  rejoiced  at  the  way 
the  ship  was  making  before  the  gale ;  although,  in 


ERROR   OF   OUR   CHRONOMETER.  893 

the  absence  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  we  had  nothing 
by  which  to  ascertain  our  whereabouts.  At  noon 
we  spoke  the  brig  Pilotfish,  of  Boston,  and  found 
that  by  her  reckoning  we  were  fifty  miles  farther  to 
the  westward  than  what  our  chronometer  gave  it ; 
however,  we  felt  pretty  well  satisfied  as  to  our  own 
correctness  until  night,  when  we  shortened  sail, 
(which  throughout  the  day  we  had  carried  to  the 
extent  of  the  vessel's  ability,)  and  luffed  to  the  wind, 
hove  the  lead,  and  sounded  with  the  deep-sea  line. 
At  the  same  time  the  gale  increased  to  a  hurricane, 
and,  as  we  could  not  see  a  ship's  length  ahead,  we 
were  compelled,  sorely  against  our  inclinations,  to 
heave  the  ship  to  for  the  night. 

At  3  o'clock  A.  M.  the  next  morning  we  all  at 
once  felt  a  change  in  the  atmosphere,  and,  on  inqui- 
ring the  cause,  found  that  the  wind  had  hauled  to 
the  westward.  A  few  minutes  afterward  the  fleecy 
scud  drove  rapidly  to  the  leeward,  and  the  wind 
from  the  southwest  bore  down  on  us  with  extreme 
violence.  But  not  too  violent  for  us.  Oh,  no !  It 
was  hailed  with  delight.  It  was  fair  and  strong; 
and,  although  we  could  show  only  close-reefed  top- 
sails and  foresail  to  it,  we  bowled  away,  with  it  on 
our  quarter,  at  the  rate  of  twelve  knots  an  hour. 
As  we  gradually  neared  the  land  we  saw  a  number 
of  small  coasting-crafts  laying-to,  with  the  water 
sweeping  over  them  —  they  not  venturing  to  run  in 
such  weather.  Of  these  we  spoke  several,  and  ascer- 
tained from  them  the  bearings  of  Montauk  Point. 
We  found  now  that  our  chronometer  was  indeed 
wrong,  and  that  had  we  depended  upon  it  we  would 
most  likely  have  been  by  this  time  high  and  dry  on 


394  A   QUESTION  FOR   THE   SAVANS. 

some  part  of  our  own  coast.  This  variation  of  the 
chronometer  was  very  strange  to  us.  During  the 
whole  voyage  we  had  found  it  perfectly  trustworthy ; 
and,  of  course,  after  so  long  an  acquaintance  with  its 
exactness,  we  had  learned  to  place  implicit  confi- 
dence in  it.  At  St.  Helena  it  was  correct,  and  so 
also  off  Cape  St.  Roque  only  three  weeks  before. 
But  the  present  was  precisely  the  case  with  it  on  the 
last  voyage,  when  Captain  James  Allen  commanded 
the  ship.  Then,  likewise,  there  had  not  been  a  mile's 
variation  in  it  until  he  had  crossed  the  Gulf  Stream, 
homeward-bound,  when  an  error  of  fifty  miles  was 
discovered  —  a  pilot-boat  giving  him  his  true  where- 
abouts. Now,  the  question  is,  what  was  the  cause 
of  this  singular  variation  ?  Was  it  the  Gulf  Stream, 
or  what  was  it  ?  Here  is  a  question  for  the  savans, 
and  should  they  solve  it,  I  will  be  happy  to  hear  of 
their  explanation. 


ENTHUSIASM.  395 


CHAPTER   XYI. 

After  speaking  these  coasting  crafts,  our  course 
was  still  onward  and  homeward.  At  noon  we  saw 
land ;  it  was  greeted  with  three  as  hearty  cheers  as 
ever  swelled  American  throats.  All  was  bustle  and 
excitement,  and  naught  but  the  discipline  of  a  well- 
regulated  ship  kept  our  enthusiasm  within  bounds. 
The  watch  below,  wearied  with  exertion,  caught  the 
gladsome  cry,  and,  leaping  from  their  berths,  hurried 
on  deck  as  they  were,  and,  without  hesitating  at 
the  coldness  of  the  weather,  sprang,  half  nude,  into 
the  rigging,  to  catch  a  sight  of  their  native  land. 
One,  more  enthusiastic  than  the  rest,  made  the  fore- 
top  a  rostrum,  and,  hatless  and  shoeless,  with  his 
shirt  flying  in  the  wind,  he  repeated  in  a  loud  voice, 
intelligible  above  the  shrieking  of  the  gale,  the 
beautiful  lines  of  Sir  Walter  Scott : 

"Lives  there  a  man  witli  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said  — 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land; 
Whose  heart  has  ne'er  within  him  burn'd, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  has  turn'd 
From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand. 
If  such  there  be,  go  mark  him  well, 
For  him  no  minstrels'  raptm^es  swell; 
Proud  though  his  title,  high  his  name, 
Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  could  claim, 
Despite  his  power  and  his  pelf, 
This  wretch,  concentered  all  in  self, 


^. 


396  HOPE   DEFERRED. 

Living,  shall  forfeit  fair  renown, 

And  doubly  dying  shall  go  down 

To  the  vile  dust  from  whence  he  sprung  — 

Unwept,  unhonored,  and  unsung." 

Eeader,  have  you  ever  read  these  lines  before  ?  Of 
course  you  have ;  so  had  I  before  I  went  to  sea ;  and 
then  with  me,  as  it  must  have  been  with  you,  they 
had  made  my  heart  beat  quicker,  and  my  eye  flash 
with  indignation  at  the  recreant  who  could  unmoved 
return  to  his  native  shore.  But  it  is  impossible  to 
describe  our  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  text  at 
such  a  moment  as  it  was  now  presented  to  us ;  and  in 
the  exuberance  of  our  spirits  we  could  have  hugged 
the  author  to  our  breasts  and  pronounced  him  sailor 
in  feeling  if  not  in  practice.  A  change,  however, 
soon  came  over  the  spirit  of  our  dreams ;  the  j^ards 
were  squared,  and,  consequently,  as  we  brought  the 
wind  aft,  we  were  enabled  to  show  more  canvas  to 
the  favoring  gale,  and  in  this  outlet  we  found  a  vent 
for  our  highly  wrought  feelings  :  reefs  were  shaken 
out,  gaskets  cast  off  in  a  twinkling,  and  the  yards 
and  sails  were  mastheaded,  as  if  by  magic,  to  the 
music  of  the  merriest  homeward  bound  song  in  our 
category,  although  our  fingers  and  other  extremities 
were  benumbed  with  the  cold.  We  were  in  hopes 
of  getting  in  this  night,  but  still  we  had  our  mis- 
givings ;  as,  even  should  we  come  into  close  proximity 
with  Montauk  Point,  the  weather  was  so  boisterous 
that  we  had  little  hopes  a  pilot  would  venture  out 
upon  such  a  night.  So,  feeling  that  should  we  be 
necessitated  to  remain  out  another  night,  we  would 
need  rest,  our  watch  went  below  to  seek  consolation 
in   Nature's    great  restorer  —  sleep;    but  in   vain, 


HOPE   RENEWED.  397 

slumber  came  not  to  our  anxious  eyes,  altliough 
wooed  by  every  means  in  our  power.  We  rolled  our 
eyes,  we  counted  indefinite  units,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose ;  the  one  idea  preoccupied  all  our  thoughts  and 
forbade  the  intrusion  of  Morpheus  on  its  domain. 
At  2  o'clock  a  light-house  was  seen,  which,  at  first, 
was  called  Montauk  light,  but  the  land  around  it 
not  agreeing  with  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Montauk, 
after  some  deliberation,  it  was  pronounced  Fire 
Island  light.  This  was  a  damper  on  all  our  spirits 
and  dissipated  our  air  castles,  which  had  been  built 
with  the  provision  of  going  ashore  within  twenty- 
four  hours ;  and  long  faces  and  dolorous  sighs  were 
the  attendants  upon  this  decision.  After  a  few 
minutes  of  painful  uncertainty,  some  one,  whose 
memory  was  more  retentive,  called  to  mind  the  fact 
of  having  seen  in  a  newspaper  a  notice  of  the  erection 
of  a  new  light  between  Fire  Island  and  Montauk 
light.  This  view  of  the  subject  was  immediately 
endorsed  by  all  hands,  and  a  corresponding  buoyancy 
pervaded  all ;  but  as  landmark  after  landmark  was 
passed,  and  still  Montauk  was  not  to  be  seen,  we 
gave  up  all  hopes  of  seeing  'New  Bedford  that  night, 
and  were  fearful  that  that  much  wished  for  occasion 
might  not  occur  for  a  fortnight  or  more ;  as  these 
southerly  winds  are  not  persistent,  and  no  one 
knows  how  soon  they  may  leave  him  and  be  followed 
by  a  north-easter,  which,  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
lasts  for  weeks,  and  forbids  all  entrance  into  our 
destined  harbor.  But  just  at  nightfall,  one,  who 
had  voluntarily  perched  himself  on  the  loftiest  look- 
out on  the  fore  royal  mast,  sung  out,  "  Light  ho !' 
and  we  soon  found  that  at  last  we  had  sighted 
84 


8^3  LOW   SPIRITS. 

the  veritable  Montauk  Point  and  light-house.  This 
was  cheering;  but  no  pilot  was  to  be  seen,  and 
our  only  resort  was  to  shorten  sail,  heave  the  ship 
to,  and  hang  on  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  wind- 
ward, so  as  to  have  no  difficulty  in  beating  up  at 
the  approach  of  daylight.  To  this  end  we  clewed 
up  and  furled  our  light  sails,  reefed  and  furled  the 
courses,  clewed  down  and  close-reefed  the  topsails — 
and  bitter  work  we  had  of  it.  The  weather,  although 
not  intensely  cold  to  one  accustomed  to  it,  to  our 
tropical  sensibilities  was  frigid;  and  as,  during  the 
day,  we  had  been  enveloped  by  fog,  our  canvas  was 
damp  and  heavy,  and  not  to  be  handled  in  a  moment; 
so  that  it  was  a  task  of  time,  patience,  exposure,  and 
danger,  to  reduce  the  old  ship's  canvas  to  a  spread 
commensurate  to  the  violence  of  the  gale  which  now 
blew  from  west-north-west.  In  reviewing  my  whole 
stock  of  sea  experience,  comprising  over  three  years 
of  actual  life  upon  the  broad  bosoms  of  four  out  of 
the  five  oceans  of  the  globe,  I  can  call  to  memory  no 
time  at  which  I  felt  more  depressed  than  during  the 
continuance  of  this  night;  not  so  much  from  the  heavi- 
iness  of  the  gale,  for  I  had  weathered  scores  that  were 
much  heavier ;  not  from  the  short,  breaking,  comb- 
ing sea,  which,  from  being  on  soundings  and  in 
shallow  water,  made  it  but  a  plaything  in  tlie  heavy 
gust,  and  rendered  it  trebly  unpleasant,  breaking 
upon  and  against  the  ship,  keeping  her  continually 
wet  and  uncomfortable ;  but  this  too  was  a  matter  of 
course  to  me  —  I  had  had  my  jacket  wet  a  hundred, 
ay,  a  thousand  times,  with  the  salted  spray  of  old 
ocean  ;  nor  was  it  from  a  sense  of  danger  from  any 
or  all  of  these  combinations;  but  the  wind  gradually, 
yet  steadily,  hauling  to  the  northward,  occasioned  a 


COLD   COMFORT.  399 

dead  weight;  its  remaining  in  its  present  quarter, 
west-north-west,  being  our  only  hope  of  getting  in  ; 
and  to  be  lying  here  within  a  few  miles,  almost  in 
sight,  of  home,  without  power  to  pursue  our  voyage 
thither,  was  a  probation  by  no  means  gratifying.  I 
strove  to  shake  off  the  feeling,  calling  to  my  aid  all 
the  resources  of  manhood;  but  in  vain.  I  then 
attempted  to  gain  some  consolation  from  the  old 
gray-headed  seaman,  who  had  for  years  followed  the 
coast  in  all  its  windings  from  Newfoundland  to 
Florida;  but  he,  like  me,  was  under  the  thrall  of  the 
same  vague  and  undefinable  depression,  and  in- 
stead of  administering  consolation,  went  off  into  a 
narration  of  how,  time  after  time,  he  had  made  the 
same  light  with  a  southerly  wind,  hove  the  ship  to 
through  the  night,  anticipating  a  run  in  during  the 
next  morning,  but  at  dawn  the  wind  came  out  at 
north-east  with  hail  and  snow,  and  for  weeks  nothing 
could  be  done  but  to  lay  to  and  sweat  it  out.  This 
was  adding  gall  to  wormwood,  and  the  old  fellow, 
perceiving  my  lugubriousness,  slapped  me  on  the 
back,  and  said,  "Cheer  up,  my  hearty!  we  have 
weathered  many  a  gale  together,  and,  please  God, 
we  will  make  port  to-morrow,  when  we  can  laugh  at 
our  forebodings  of  to-night."  In  this  state  of  mental 
inquietude,  at  11  o'clock  at  night  I  went  below,  and 
with  a  prayer  that  the  wind  should  favor  us  at  dawn, 
I  threw  myself  in  my  berth,  hoping  to  rid  myself  of 
the  solicitude  in  sleep,  but  fruitlessly ;  it  was  a  mere 
repetition  of  the  afternoon's  performance.  I  rolled, 
tumbled,  and  almost  worried  myself  into  a  fever; 
several  times  I  caught  a  moment's  nap,  only  to  be 
visited  by  visions  in  which  the  voices  of  home  were 


400  CONTINUED   DISAPPOINTMENT. 

calling  me,  and  the  outstretched  arms  of  loved  ones, 
prompted  by  affection,  were  extended  towards  me 
to  welcome  the  wanderer  home.  But  in  vain  did  I 
struggle  to  reach  them,  some  invisible  agency  held 
me  back  despite  my  frantic  efforts,  and  with  the 
sweat  profusely  dropping  from  my  reeking  brow, 
parched  tongue  and  straining  eyeballs,  I  would  awake 
to  find  it  but  a  dream. 

Thus  passed  the  weary  hours  until  3  o'clock,  when 
on  the  calling  of  the  watch  I  turned  out,  and  took 
the  helm.  My  attention,  of  course,  was  directed  first 
to  the  wind.  Mj^  forebodings  were  too  truly  realized. 
There  it  was,  from  the  northwest ;  and,  with  gloomy 
resolution,  I  resigned  myself  to  the  decree.  Our 
ofiicer  of  the  deck,  scarcely  a  whit  behind  me,  came 
to  the  binnacle  for  the  same  purpose.  From  his 
anxious  and  careworn  face  I  could  see  that  he  had 
experienced  no  refreshment  in  sleep.  Sympathizing 
with  him,  I  forebore  remark;  but,  after  satisfying 
himself,  he  turned  to  me,  with  a  countenance  on 
every  line  of  which  was  written  mental  torture,  and 
in  a  tone  that  expressed  his  feelings,  he  said,  "There 
depart  all  our  bright  anticipations  —  God  help  me 
to  bear  the  disappointment !"  —  and  then  proceeded 
moodily  to  walk  the  quarter-deck.  Again  he  came, 
and  related  to  me  that  on  two  former  occasions,  in 
this  same  delectable  month  of  March,  he  had  been 
served  in  precisely  the  same  way,  and  wound  up  by 
saying,  "  I  shall  worry  no  more  !  I  am  now  satisfied 
that  we  will  not  get  in  before  the  first  of  April ;  and 
so  we  may  as  well  grin  and  bear  it" 

Unable  to  control  my  own  thoughts,  I  perforce 
allowed  them  to  run  fancy  free,  and  whilst  so  en- 


FAVORABLE   CHANGE   OF   WIND.  401 

gaged  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  compass :  intui- 
tively easing  the  helm  when  the  vessel  pitched  from 
the  surging  of  the  waves  so  as  to  endanger  the  spars, 
and  occasionally  when  warned  by  the  flapping  of  the 
sails  raising  the  wheel  to  keep  her  off  from  the  wind 
a  trifle ;  until  at  length  an  unusually  heavy  sea, 
breaking  over  the  ship  and  drenching  the  decks, 
awoke  me  from  ray  reverie. 

Day  had  now  began  to  dawn,  and  casually  I 
glanced  at  the  compass.  Could  I  be  assured  that 
the  direction  in  which  the  magnetic  needle  pointed 
"vvas  correct,  or  was  it  a  mere  phantasy  of  my  over- 
wrought brain !  I  rubbed  my  eyes,  and  looked 
again.  Could  it  be  possible,  or  was  I  in  a  lethargy, 
deceiving  myself  into  a  belief  in  the  reality  of  a 
wished-for  fact !  I  shook  myself,  and  stamped  my 
feet,  now  grown  cold  from  inaction.  Satisfied  at 
length  that  I  was  in  the  perfect  possession  of  all 
my  faculties,  I  ventured  to  glance  again  at  the 
needle,  and  then  I  received  the  fullest  evidence  that 
I  was  not  deceived.  I  called  the  second  mate  to  me. 
He  at  first  could  scarce  credit  it  —  but,  there  it  was ! 
The  wind  bad  hauled  two  points,  and  now  w^as  west- 
north-west,  and  we  had  a  prospect  of  delivery  from 
all  our  somber  soliloquies.  Hurrah !  The  captain 
was  now  called  (he  having  gone  below  for  sleep  — 
the  two  preceding  nights  he  had  been  upon  deck 
until  utterly  worn  out).  He  came  up  skeptical,  but 
was  soon  a  convert.  "  We  cannot  show  much  sail," 
said  he,  "  but  we  will  venture  a  little  more.  Shake 
a  reef  out  of  each  topsail.  Loose  the  foresail."  (I 
had  now  been  relieved  from  the  wheel.)  Still  she 
did  not  go  fast  enough.  *'  Loosen  the  jib  and 
34*  2  a 


402  A  NEW-BEDFOKD   PILOT   COMES   ABOARD. 

spanker."  l^o  sooner  said,  than  done.  I  sprang 
upon  the  bowsprit  and  out  upon  the  jib-boom,  skin- 
ning my  hands  fearfully,  and  receiving  a  severe  blow 
upon  the  head  from  the  jibsheet-block ;  both,  at  any 
other  time,  sufficient  to  make  me  groan  with  pain ; 
but  now  they  passed  almost  unnoticed.  Without 
faltering,  I  cast  the  gasket  oft".  The  jib  was  foul. 
I  had  to  lay  out,  and  to  overhaul  the  hoops.  It  was 
done.  The  jib  gradually  rose  to  its  proper  position. 
The  sheet  was  then  hauled  aft  by  the  strength  of  the 
entire  crew;  but  still  it  was  not  sufficient.  A  power- 
ful tackle  was  now  attached  to  it,  and  with  the  aid 
of  numerous  arms  (the  captain,  cook,  and  every  one 
else  assisting)  it  was  brought  flat  enough,  and  thus 
secured.  Arriving  on  deck,  the  clotted  blood  called 
my  attention  to  my  lacerated  hands ;  but  it  was  no 
time  to  complain.  Half-a-dozen  were  so  wounded. 
Our  skins  being  dry,  parched,  and  benumbed,  the 
least  contact  with  any  hard  material  produced  an 
abrasion ;  which,  however,  no  one  noticed :  for  the 
spanker  was  to  be  set,  more  reefs  shaken  out,  and 
the  staysails  loosened. 

And,  hurrah  again  !  there  came  the  pilot-boat. 
!N"ow  was  the  time:  we  could  not  lose  a  minute. 
"Loosen  topgallant-sails  and  royals!"  (We  dared  not 
set  them ;  but  should  the  wind  have  moderated,  we 
would  have  lost  no  time  in  casting  off  gaskets.)  A 
few  minutes  more,  and  the  pilot-boat  was  alongside. 
"Is  there  a  l^ew-Bedford  pilot  in  the  boat?"  was  our 
hail.  "Aye,  aye!"  came  booming  across  the  water. 
"  Send  down  a  boat,  with  a  barrel  of  pork  and  a  tub 
of  tow^-line,  and  he  will  board  you."  This  was  soon 
effected.     The  pilot  entered  the  boat,  now  half  full 


THE  OLD  SHIP  GOES  NOBLY  INTO  PORT.    403 

of  water;  but  her  crew  knew  how  to  manage  her. 
He  was  soon  aboard  the  ship,  and  without  further 
delay  took  the  command  of  her. 

Captain  Sherman's  vocation  has  gone  —  his  re- 
sponsibility is  over:  the  ship  is  now  in  American 
waters,  with  an  American  pilot  aboard,  who  gives 
his  orders  to  the  ever-willing  crew.  He  is  obeyed 
with  alacrity,  as  long  as  he  makes  sail ;  but  no  one 
wants  to  take  any  in  —  neither  does  he.  He  is  a 
perfectly  competent  man,  and  fortunately  a  driver. 
"  Where  are  your  studding-sails  ?  Pack  them  on  whilst 
w^e  have  a  chance.  Kever  mind  a  few  yards  of  can- 
vass, or  a  whole  sail.  Give  them  to  her.  Let  her 
have  all  she  can  spread:  the  w^ind  may  not  hold 
half  an  hour." 

There  she  goes  !  —  now  she  is  moving !  Block 
Island  is  passed.  There,  off  the  beam,  frowns  Point 
Judith.  Now  for  Cuttyhunk  light.  "  Go  along,  old 
ship  !  —  cleave  the  waters,  as  never  you  did  before. 
Soon  you,  as  well  as  we,  will  be  at  rest." 

Nobly  did  the  old  barque  answer  our  appeal.  She 
appeared  endowed  with  life  —  and,  on  she  goes! 
The  Cuttyhunk  light  is  passed ;  Clarke's  Point  opens 
to  our  view,  and  some  of  the  crew,  who  reside  in  the 
rural  districts,  see  familiar  landmarks.  "There  I 
live,"  you  hear  from  one.  "  There  is  the  church- 
steeple — there,  the  sawmill — there,  the  almshouse." 

''Hurrah!"  —  now  we  near  the  city.  There  are 
new  buildings,  erected  since  we  left  here.  There  is 
a  new  lighthouse.  There  is  Fair  Haven.  There  is 
the  shipping  at  the  docks.  And  now  we  are  closing- 
in  with  Clarke's  Point.  The  wind  is  hauling — well, 
who  cares  —  who  cares  now  ?  We  are  perfectly  inde- 


401      ANCHOR   ONCE   MORE   ON  AMERICAN  BOTTOM. 

pendent  of  the  clerk  of  the  weather.  But  we  can  go 
only  a  few  ship's  lengths  farther:  that  is  near  enough 
—  we  are  only  three  miles  from  'New  Bedford. 

"]N'ow,  then,  round  in  on  your  weather-braces. 
Start  away  tacks  and  sheets.  Clew  up  everything. 
Haul  down  your  jibs  and  staysails.  Start  away 
your  halyards,  and  let  your  yards  come  down  by 
the  run.  Let  the  spanker  remain  till  she  comes 
to  the  wind.  Hard  down  the  helm.  Square  the 
main  yard.  Brail  up  the  spanker  —  one  minute 
more.  Let  go  the  anchor."  The  heavy  cable  runs 
out  unimpeded,  and  once  more  we  have  a  firm  hold 
on  American  bottom ! 

Our  next  duty  is  to  furl  the  sails,  and  then  our 
engagement  is  ended :  then  we  are  free  to  do  as  we 
please ;  then  we  are  released  from  all  discipline,  ex- 
cept that  enjoined  by  self-respect ;  then  we  once 
more  become  members  of  society ;  then  we  will  dis- 
card the  blue  shirt  of  the  sailor,  and  in  the  midst  of 
long  anticipated  comforts  forget  our  manifold  hard- 
ships and  dangers ;  then  we  will  take  the  preliminary 
steps  toward  meeting  friends  and  relatives,  and  in 
the  joy  of  the  moment  we  are  repaid  for  much  that 
we  have  undergone  of  toil  and  exposure. 

Our  job  aloft  was  an  arduous  one,  having  carried 
such  a  press  of  sail  up  the  bay  and  river,  and  then 
when  a  ship  is  at  anchor  she  always  swings  head  to 
wind  —  consequently  her  sails  are  pressed  aft  by  the 
breeze,  and  it  is  only  by  considerable  tugging  and 
straining  that  they  are  drawn  up  to  the  yard.  How- 
ever, this,  like  many  other  unpleasant  duties,  could 
not  last  for  ever.  By  dint  of  hauling  and  tugging, 
wo  accomplished  it,  and  descended  to  the  deck,  with 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  THE  SHIP.       405 

the  gratifying  consciousness  that  we  should  have  no 
more  of  it  to  do  for  this  voyage  at  least,  whatever 
the  future  may  have  in  store  for  us. 

Whilst  aloft  on  the  maintopsail  yard,  from  which 
I  had  a  good  view  of  the  hay  and  the  ocean  beyond, 
I  asked  myself  whether  I  should  be  content  ashore, 
or  whether  it  was  decreed  that  I  should  form  one  of 
that  great  body  of  uneasy  spirits  who  gain  their  live- 
lihood by  toil  upon  the  ocean.  All  my  chequered 
life  for  the  previous  four  years  passed  in  array  before 
me,  with  its  ills  and  its  pleasantries ;  and,  although 
the  former  overbalanced  the  latter,  I  could  not, 
without  a  sigh  of  regret,  bid  farewell  to  old  ocean. 

On  getting  on  deck,  all  hands  were  busily  em- 
ployed packing  and  securing  chests,  donning  their 
best  suits,  and  making  all  necessary  preparations  for 
leaving  the  ship.  This  leaving  the  ship  was  by  no 
means  a  pleasant  operation.  Her  sturdy  sides  had 
so  long  afforded  us  protection  from  the  storm  and 
wave,  that  she  was  endeared  to  us  by  a  thousand 
ties.  Every  spar  and  rope  in  her  were  as  familiar 
to  us  as  household  words,  and  each  object  begat 
some  pleasant  reminiscence;  but  we  were  too  busy 
reflecting  on  dearer  objects  to  allow  the  old  barque's 
memory  to  make  us  sad  —  so  we  continued  our  pre- 
parations in  silence,  scarce  a  word  being  spoken, 
each  heart  being  too  full  for  utterance. 

Fifteen  minutes  after  a  boat  came  alongside,  which 
is  technically  known  as  the  shark's  boat.  In  it  were 
the  proprietors  and  agents  of  all  the  outfitting  firms 
of  the  city,  black  and  white,  Portuguese,  Germans, 
Irish,  French,  &c.,  each  intent  on  getting  a  customer 


406  VISITED   BY   LAND-SHARKS. 

from  amongst  our  vessel's  crew.  They  jumped 
aboard,  and  endeavored  by  passing  the  bottle  around 
(with  which  they  always  go  provided,  knowing  that 
the  sailor  is  much  more  easily  gulled  when  half  seas 
over),  to  get  as  many  to  go  with  them  to  their  places 
of  business  as  possible ;  at  the  same  time  they  readily 
give  their  aid  in  packing  and  lashing  their  customer's 
chests,  assiduously  waiting  upon  him,  and  not  allow- 
ing him  to  get  out  of  their  sight  for  a  moment  — 
fearful  of  losing  him.  After  some  little  chaffering 
our  chests  and  selves  were  all  aboard  the  boat  and 
were  rapidly  approaching  the  city.  A  large  con- 
course of  spectators  had  assembled  on  the  wharves, 
comprising  the  runners  of  all  the  most  miserable 
and  nefarious  houses  of  the  town.  The  captain  of 
the  boat,  anxious  to  disappoint  them,  ran  to  another 
wharf,  to  which  these  harpies  speedily  conveyed 
themselves.  As  soon  as  we  had  landed,  each  man 
went  with  his  outfitter,  or  rather  infitter,  in  order  to 
be  thoroughly  renovated  in  appearance  and  pocket. 
Although  we  landed  on  Sunday,  we  had  no  difiiculty 
in  obtaining  clothing,  these  outfitters  being  provided 
for  all  such  contingencies.  After  enjoying  a  thorough 
wash,  and  getting  into  an  entire  suit  of  long  togs,  or 
landsmen's  wearing  garments,  but  little  was  left  of 
the  semblance  of  sailors  to  us,  except  the  rolling  gait 
and  embrowned  countenances.  Our  next  trip  was  to 
the  barber's,  where  all  superfluous  hair  was  removed 
from  heads  and  faces,  and  a  thorough  scrubbing 
operation  gone  through  with ;  which,  on  viewing 
ourselves  in  the  glass,  gave  us  a  pretty  good  opinion 
of  our  personal  qualifications,  and  we  started  for  a 


HOOPED   DRESSES.  407 

walk.  The  first  things,  of  course,  that  attracted  our 
attention,  were  the  hoops  in  female  dresses ;  we  had 
heard  marvellous  stories  of  the  rotundity  of  a  fashion- 
ably dressed  lady,  but  had  never  seen  one.  One  of 
my  informants  having  told  me  six  months  before, 
whilst  we  were  cruising  off  the  Island  of  Madagascar, 
that  it  was  not  unusual  for  a  lady  to  wear  hoops 
thirty  feet  in  circumference.  In  the  occupation  of 
mind  attendant  upon  getting  ashore,  I  had  totally 
forgotten  the  existence  of  hoops,  but  was  astonished 
at  the  corpulence  of  every  woman  I  met,  and  I 
thought,  no,  I  won't  tell  you  what  I  thought ;  but 
you  must  imagine  yourself  in  the  same  position,  and 
then  what  would  you  think  ?  As  yet  I  had  not  passed 
close  to  a  lady  with  hoops,  but  in  turning  the 
corner  of  a  street  I  came  in  contact  with  one,  and  in 
my  endeavors  to  escape  from  my  embarrassing 
position,  I  made  no  allowance  for  the  rolling  motion 
acquired  aboard  ship,  and  only  made  matters  worse. 
In  a  few  minutes,  however,  I  managed  to  get  clear, 
though  not  without  getting  into  the  lady's  arms,  or 
she  in  mine,  I  do  not  now  remember  which;  during 
said  contact  I  was  convinced  that  the  large  size  of 
the  ladies  was  a  work  of  art  and  not  of  nature. 
This  called  my  wandering  memory  back  to  the  de- 
scriptions of  hoops  that  I  had  heard,  and  henceforth 
the  solution  of  the  mystery  was  easy. 

Having  made  such  a  poor  attempt  on  my  first 
promenade,  I  returned  to  the  house,  situated  on 
Union  Street  (I  preferred  a  private  house  to  a  hotel), 
where  also  were  several  other  of  my  shipmates ;  and 
in  talking  of  old  times  we  whiled  away  tlie  hours,  nor 
thought  them  irksome.     When  evening  came  and 


408  SLEEP   ASHORE. 

we  sat  down  to  supper  at  the  well-spread  board, 
enlivened  by  the  genial  and  handsome  face  of  our 
worthy  landlady,  we  began  to  realize  what  comforts 
and  pleasures  we  had  been  deprived  of  by  our  three 
years'  jaunt ;  instead  of  sitting  down  on  a  rude  chest, 
with  tin  pan  and  pot  before  one,  and  a  sheath-knife 
to  carve  out  the  salt  junk  that  formed  the  greater 
part  of  our  repast,  here  were  the  various  viands 
arranged  in  a  clean  and  neat  manner,  inviting  the 
hungry  and  the  gourmand  to  partake  of  them. 
After  supper  we  smoked  our  cigars,  and,  tired  with 
the  exercise  of  the  day,  retired  early,  and  enjoyed  a 
night  of  refreshing  slumber,  uninterrupted  by  the 
hoarse  cry  of  "  Starbowlines,  ahoy !"  "Eight  Bells  !" 
or  the  still  less  welcome  one  of  "  All  hands  turn  out 
and  take  in  sail."  Then,  again,  each  was  comforta- 
bly ensconced  between  clean  sheets,  on  feather  beds, 
totally  distinctive  in  all  their  relations  from  our  own 
straw  mattrasses,  packed  down  by  three  years  use, 
and  well-worn,  dusky -looking  blankets.  All  was 
comfort,  and  we  appreciated  it  as  only  men  can 
who  for  years  have  been  deprived  of  the  many  little 
et  ceteras  that  make  life  bearable. 

The  succeeding  morning  I  proceeded  to  the  tele- 
graph office  and  telegraphed  home,  receiving  an 
answer  that  satisfied  my  fullest  longings.  All  my 
immediate  famiily  were  alive  and  well ;  but  such  was 
not  the  case  with  some  of  my  less  fortunate  ship- 
mates—  several  had  lost  fathers,  one  a  mother,  others 
a  sister  or  brother ;  in  fact,  there  were  few  but  had 
to  weep  for  a  near  and  dear  one  gone,  whom  in  the 
fullness  of  their  wishes  they  had  hoped  would  have 
been  the  first  to  welcome  them  home. 


JACK   CHEATED   IN   HIS   OUTFIT.  409 

My  shipmates,  I  said  before,  looked  different  from 
what  they  did  aboard  ship ;  but  some  of  them  were 
exceptions  to  this  rule.  Several  had  nothing  coming 
to  them,  and  could  get  neither  clothing  nor  money ; 
pretty  hard,  was  it  not,  after  over  three  years  hard 
work  at  sea  for  one  employer,  to  land  without  the 
wherewithal  to  purchase  a  meal's  victuals. 

There  is  a  dark  side  to  the  whaling  service,  and  I 
shall  endeavor  to  place  it  before  the  community  in 
its  true  character,  and  I  hope  that  it  may  discourage 
those  young  men  from  embarking  in  it  who  think  that 
money  can  be  saved  on  a  whaling  voyage,  because 
there  is  so  little  opportunity  to  spend  it. 

In  the  first  place,  when  a  green  hand  engages  to 
perform  a  voyage,  he  knows  nothing  at  all  about 
what  clothing  he  requires.  The  shark,  perhaps, 
tells  him  that  the  ship,  being  bound  to  the  Indian 
Ocean,  there  is  no  necessity  for  him  providing  woolen 
clothing,  and  palms  off  upon  him  an  assortment  of 
blue  dungaree  raiment,  precisely  like  the  summer 
suits  of  the  population  our  city  supports  at  the 
Blockley  almshouse.  One  of  these  suits  will  last  him 
about  a  week;  but  as  he  gets  into  high  southern 
latitudes  he  finds  that  he  requires  woolen  clothing, 
and  goes  to  the  slop-chest,  imagining  that  he  can  get 
what  he  wants  at  a  reasonable  price.  If  he  inquires 
how  much  such  an  article  is  valued  at,  the  captain 
will  tell  him  that  he  does  not  know ;  but,  neverthe- 
less, he  must  have  the  clothes,  and  therefore  takes 
them,  and  thus  his  account  goes  on  increasing  during 
the  voyage.  Just  before  the  ship  returns  home,  his 
bill  is  handed  to  him  by  the  captain,  and  what  is  his 
dismay  to  discover  that  he  is  indebted  to  the  owners 
35 


410  EXTORTION  ABOARD  SHIP. 

of  the  slop-chest,  one  hundred  dollars,  or  more,  inde- 
pendent of  the  outfitter's  bill.  He  finds  a  woolen 
shirt  is  charged  to  him  at  the  extortionate  price  of 
three  dollars  and  a  half;  pumps,  worth  fifty  cents  a 
pair,  at  a  dollar  and  a  half;  the  commonest  kind  of 
rawhide  boots,  five  dollars  a  pair;  a  frieze  jacket, 
seven  dollars ;  thread,  six  cents  a  skein ;  and  sus- 
penders, such  as  could  be  bought  anywhere  else  for 
five  cents  a  pair,  aboard  ship  are  sold  for  half  a  dollar. 
These  prices  are  not  exaggerated,  I  copy  them  from 
my  ship's  bill. 

Beside  these  extortions  an  additional  twenty-five 
per  cent  is  charged  on  all  money  advanced  in  foreign 
ports  by  the  captain  to  the  crew ;  six  per  cent,  interest 
per  annum  is  our  legal  rate,  and  I  for  one  should  not 
grumble  at  paying  for  cash  advanced  at  that  rate ; 
but  some  of  our  money  we  only  received  seven 
months  previous  to  our  arrival  home,  and  I  cannot 
but  think  that  a  charge  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  for 
the  use  of  money  a  trifle  over  six  months,  is  exorbi- 
tant and  dishonest.  Still  there  are  Shylocks  in  the 
world  who  would  absorb  the  last  dollar  of  earnings 
from  the  sailor,  after  years  of  exposure  to  wind  and 
weather  have  rightfully  earned  for  him  his  scanty 
wages. 

I  have  not  yet  finished  with  the  specifications  of 
these  overcharges.  The  ship  is  not  at  home  yet,  and 
we  only  know  what  the  bill  aboard  ship  amounts  to ; 
the  recipient  of  it,  although  he  is  astounded  at  its 
amount,  adds  it  and  the  amount  of  his  outfitter's  bill 
together,  and  consoles  himself  with  the  thought  that 
he  has  forty  or  fifty  dollars  still  due  him ;  and  thus 
persuaded,  on  the  arrival  of  the  ship  he  goes  ashore, 


JACK  TAR  RETURNS  IN  DEBT.        411 

confident  of  being  able  to  pay  his  board  for  a  week 
or  two,  and  have  enough  remaining  to  secure  him  a 
passage  home,  he  goes  up  to  the  owners  and  asks  for 
a  small  sum  of  money  for  present  wants.  They 
refuse  him,  saying  that  nothing  is  coming  to  him. 
He  demands  a  settlement.  On  obtaining  it,  in  the 
first  place  he  finds  that  twenty-five  per  cent,  interest 
has  been  charged  on  his  outfitting  bill,  next  he  finds 
a  charge  varying  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  for  load- 
ing and  discharging  the  ship.  In  many  cases,  three 
per  cent,  for  insurance  is  packed  on,  and  with  these 
additional  items  the  poor  fellow  is  brought  in  debt 
and  knows  not  what  to  do.  Then  the  agent  claps 
him  on  the  shoulder  and  tells  him  to  cheer  up,  as 
another  ship  will  be  ready  to  sail  in  a  few  days,  and, 
if  he  will  sign  his  name  upon  her  articles,  money 
and  clothing  will  be  advanced  to  him.  Destitute 
and  hopeless,  down  goes  his  name,  and  a  few  weeks 
afterward  he  is  at  sea  again,  bound  on  another  three 
or  four  years'  voyage. 

The  average  number  of  barrels  of  oil  taken  by 
sperm  whalers,  during  a  four  years'  voyage,  is  twelve 
hundred;  if  the  ship  carries  four  boats,  a  green 
hand's  lay  is  the  two  hundredth  part ;  this  will  give 
him  six  barrels  of  oil,  worth  about  forty-five  dollars 
a  barrel,  amounting  to  two  hundred  and  seventy 
dollars.  The  ship's  and  outfitter's  bills  will  amount 
to  at  least  two  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  leaving  a 
residue  of  fifty  dollars  -or  about  a  dollar  a  month  over 
and  above  personal  expenses. 

Even  if  the  ship  should  get  full  of  oil  and  return 
home  in  two  years,  which,  by  the  way,  would  be  a 
miracle  now-a-days,  one  of  her  crew  cannot,  at  the 


412        WHALING  FOR  THE   SAKE   OF  ADVENTURE. 

most,  make  more  than  half  as  much  as  the  day- 
laborer  ashore. 

These  are  facts,  and  are  palpable  enough  to  deter 
any  and  all  who  wish  to  go  whaling  for  the  purpose 
of  making  or  saving  money;  but  there  is  another 
class  who  think  whaling  must  be  the  most  delightful 
of  all  pursuits  from  its  pleasant  adventures,  its  perils, 
and  the  facilities  ofiered  by  it  for  seeing  foreign 
lands.  This  is  all  extremely  visionary,  as  any  one 
who  has  ever  made  such  a  voyage  will  tell  you. 
All  its  adventures,  and  all  its  perils  are  matter  of 
fact,  stern  realities  ;  for  instance,  you  lower  away  in 
the  boat,  get  alongside  of  a  whale,  the  boat  is  stoven 
and  you  are  obliged  to  remain  in  the  water  for  an 
hour  or  two,  until  you  are  almost  frozen ;  or  if  you 
are  in  warm  latitudes,  with  the  pleasant  reflection 
that  at  any  minute  a  shark  may  come  along  and  snap 
off  one  of  your  limbs,  how  much  pleasure  Tvould 
such  an  adventure  yield  you  ?  It  w^ould  do  to  tell 
after  you  got  home,  to  be  sure ;  and  whilst  you  are 
telling  it,  ten  chances  to  one,  j^ou  will  be  more  fully 
reminded  of  it  by  a  twinge  of  rheumatism,  the  sow- 
ing of  the  seeds  of  which  dates  back  to  the  very  day 
of  your  adventure.  No ;  there  is  no  fun  in  going  on 
a  whaling  voyage ;  nobody  goes  a  second  time  but 
those  who  are  compelled  to ;  they  see  no  adventure 
in  it — it  is  the  mere  perilling  of  life  and  limb  to  fill 
ship  owners'  coffers. 

Then,  again,  if  you  go  for  adventure's  sake,  it  does 
not  exempt  you  from  other  and  more  disagreeable 
duties  that  your  sense  of  manliness  will  revolt  at. 
Go  and  look  at  the  scavengers  at  work  in  the  streets 
of  your  native  city,  and  ask  yourself  how  you  would 


ADVICE   TO   LANDSMEN.  413 

like  to  participate  in  their  employment.  But  there 
is  no  such  work  aboard  ship,  some  one  says.  I  know 
better;  and  so  does  any  other  sailor  who  ever  was  in 
a  ship  where  pigs  were  kept,  or  where  the  captain 
had  a  dog.  Yes !  he  knows  it,  for  he  has  had  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  such  duty ;  and  so  w^ill 
any  one  else  who  is  foolish  enough  to  go  to  sea  before 
the  mast,  as  a  green  hand. 

Now  I  think  I  have  presented  the  subject  in  its 
true  light,  and  I  will  conclude  by  advising  all  young 
men  who  can  gain  a  livelihood  ashore,  to  stay  at 
home.  I  have  been  through  the  mill,  and  am  satisfied 
to  remain;  and  in  reviewing  my  whole  stock  of  sea 
adventures  and  incidents,  I  must  say  the  most  pleasant 
of  all  is  getting  home  safe,  wnth  a  chest  full  of 
curiosities,  displaying  them  to  appreciating  friends, 
and  spinning  yarns  descriptive  of  them.  Trusting 
that  all  my  readers  may  arrive  as  safe  at  their 
journey's  end,  whether  in  a  voyage  to  sea  or  in  the 
voj^age  of  life,  I  will  bid  them  adieu ;  also  hoping 
that,  in  the  perusal  of  this  book,  they  have  whiled 
away  their  hours  pleasantly,  and  gleaned  some  little 
information  concerning  the  whale  and  his  pursuers. 


THE    END, 


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